Racial Inequalities In Prisons

by Emily Suse

Provided by SWHELPER

The rate at which different races are incarcerated in the US is strikingly unequal. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People states “[t]hough African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32% of the US population, they comprised 56% of all incarcerated people in 2015. If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates as whites, prison and jail populations would decline by almost 40%”. This insight provides justification to the idea that our country is targeting groups of the population, instead of fairly evaluating individual offenders.

Not only are there more people of color in the criminal justice system, these same convicted criminals often receive longer sentences than their white counterparts. These harsh realities impact prisoners, their families, and their communities. A criminal background can have effects on employment opportunities, public assistance programs, voting rights, student aid, and public housing. Minority populations in the US have statistically high poverty rates and the racial disparities in prisons contribute to social hardships.

According to the Sentencing Project, 1 in 3 black men and 1 in 6 latino men are expected to be incarcerated at some point. However, only 1 in 17 white men face this same reality. The statistics are also comparable for females of these races. The increased rates of imprisonment for minorities have unfortunate effects on kids. Children with a parent in prison are often bullied more at school and experience lower levels of self-esteem.

The War on Drugs has been blamed for many of the racial disparities in prisons. Although drug use is similar between races, minorities are much more likely to be convicted for these offenses. Law enforcement has focused their attention on low income areas and communities of color, resulting in more arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of minorities.

The Drug Policy Alliance suggests that the best way to combat this issue is to “[d]ecriminalize drug possession, removing a major cause of arrest and incarceration of primarily people of color, helping more people receive drug treatment and redirecting law enforcement resources to prevent serious and violent crime”. By eliminating the racial gap in the criminal justice system, the US will see positive social and economic changes for years to come.