Did you know with the exception of Seychelles, the United States has the highest number of prisoners in the world? And according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, no country incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than the U.S.
These are trends that should not make Americans proud.
Even more disturbing are the disproportionate number of Black men in the U.S. who are incarcerated. A recent report notes “there are more African-American men incarcerated in the U.S. than the total prison populations in India, Argentina, Canada, Lebanon, Japan, Germany, Finland, Israel and England combined.”
It is clear the overabundance of Black males who are in prison has less to do with crime and more to do with racism, but this isn’t just my opinion. Analysts, researchers, criminologists and even economists throughout the country have said the same thing. As a matter of fact, in a blog post by Nake Kamrany and Ryan Boyd an economics professor and research assistant in econmoics respectively stated, “There is a drastic disparity when comparing the race of inmates to the general population in the United States. There are 69.13 percent whites, 12.32 percent Blacks, and 12.55 percent Hispanic but the inmate population is 34.72 percent white, 43.91 percent Black and 18.26 percent Hispanics. We believe this significant disparity is attributed to racism.”
Kamrany and Boyd, both white males, link racial bias to the Black incarceration rate because data does not show Blacks solely commit more crimes than other races.
Here are some more startling facts:
- Blacks are arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for drug offenses at higher rates than whites.
- While the amount of all Black drug users (male and female) is around 13 to 15 percent, Blacks constitute nearly 40 percent of the arrests for drug possession and 63 percent of all drug offenders admitted to state prisons.
- In at least 15 states Black men were sent to prison on drug charges at 20 to 57 times higher than their white counterparts.
The discriminatory criminal charges and incarceration rates of Blacks is a serious issue this country has ignored for decades. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has made efforts to correct the discriminatory practices Blacks face in the criminal justice system, but Holder is also set to retire as soon as his replacement is confirmed by Congress. Holder’s successor Loretta Lynch has to make the plight against Blacks in the penal system a top agenda item in order to institute true fairness and democracy relative to justice.
In addition to its blatant disregard for racial fairness, federal government must also take a closer look at the prison system in general as it is highly ineffective.
General incarceration – regardless of race or gender – has increased tremendously over the past 20 years while violent crime has decreased by nearly 50 percent. However, new data show the decrease in crime had little to do with incarceration and more to do with “changes in income, decreased alcohol consumption and an aging population.”
So if overall crime is down, but incarceration numbers are higher than they have ever been, yet those incarcerated aren’t imprisoned for violent crimes, why are incarceration numbers up?
While the aforementioned question is presented in a rather complicated manner, the answer is simple: Money.
Prisons are big businesses that generate billions of dollars annually to owners. The term “modern day slavery” comes to mind when I consider the booming economy of prisons. Annually, taxpayers shell out more than $80 billion to our justice system.
Since most of the offenders currently incarcerated are doing time for nonviolent crimes, American taxpayers could save or redirect billions of dollars annually if more rehabilitative services were provided to offenders rather than incarceration.
I understand the concept of prisons and for many people, prison is exactly what they need as a consequence to their crime. However, those millions of other inmates would be better served and rehabilitated if more resources were utilized in the communities these offenders reside. Imagine what $1 billion a year could do for community centers, mental institutions and local businesses that invested in the community. Or if $2 billion annually was designated for effective reentry programs that helped reduce recidivism.
Currently prisons impose punishment rather than rehabilitation. This method doesn’t help restore communities when inmates are released. There needs to be more preventative measures placed early on in an effort to redirect the lure of bad behavior as well as rehabilitative efforts in prison and in the community upon an inmate’s release to ensure they have the necessary tools to succeed.
