ISSUE: A GROWING INCARCERATED POPULATION - Assignment Example

Issue: A Growing Incarcerated Population Racial disparity in American prisons has been an increasing source of concern for law enforcers and a of continued debate for researches. According to Oliver and Bruce (2011), close to 60% of imprisoned people are from racial and ethnic minorities, with most of the arresting disparities being from drug related offences. From a breakdown of prison inmates into White, Black and Latino, it is found that out of every 100,000 Black individuals, 2,207 of them are under incarceration.

In the same case, 966 out of every 100,000 Latino individuals are incarcerated and 380 out of every 100,000 White individuals are in prison (Oliver and Bruce, 2011). The main reason for the difference in these statistics is drug related crimes, followed by the economic status and job levels of the individuals involved.The politics involved in correctional policy in the past generation has been ever increasing, to the point where the world of corrections has become exceptionally complex (Hickman, 2007).

In the current corrections environment, the leaders of correctional services and centers have to be adept at playing the politics of every individual, service and environment in the scene. The stakeholders in the correctional environment include employee unions, offender advocacy groups, election-conscious politicians, vendors, inmates’ attorneys and religious groups (Hickman, 2007). This means that correctional centers and their leaders have to play politics in order to balance the needs of all these individuals.

In this case, all the stakeholders have a right to the correctional centers and it is the work of the correctional leaders to provide the political acumen. ReferencesHickman, Q. R. (2007). Politics, Power, the Press and Prisons. CT Feature. Pp. 46-48. Oliver, P. E., and Bruce, M. A. (2011). Tracking the Causes and Consequences of Racial Disparities in Imprisonment. National Science Foundation.