Summary for videos - Essay Example

SUMMARY FOR VIDEOS: LAWRENCE BOBO’S (HARVARD KEY ADDRESS AT THE CONFERENCE & THE INTERRUPTERS al Affiliation) Professor Bobo identifies that there is an overrepresentation of the Black American in the prisons. This he attributes to the laws and policies within the criminal system. He reveals that the policies that exist are punitive and are sheered towards what would appear to target Black and Latino races. For instance, the policy makers have identified the trade of drugs as the main problem rather than the consumption.

According to Professor Bobo, it is a clear knowledge that the rates of consumption of the illegal drugs are higher among the whites than the Blacks whereas the Blacks trade the drugs more than the Whites. Professor Bobo also notes that among the five drugs that have been classified as illegal, policy formulators have distinct cocaine as the “most illegal” yet scientifically, other drugs have worse effects on users. This is specifically because Black only deal in cocaine. According to Professor Bobo, the existing punitive law, coupled with the assumption that prisons and jails should be the primary reaction to crime, is racially designed.

In the presentation by Professor Bobo, he points out key factors believed to be the main causes of cycles of crime as economic, cultural and political. Some of this includes intensive joblessness, poverty, and family breakdowns. All the way since 1960s, one in every eighteen Blacks has been in jail or in some form of criminal justice process. This makes the society in which the Black children grow in being unstable, with many of them having missed opportunities of obtaining college education and serving in military.

It therefore follows that cycle of crime continue in the neighborhood. The presentation by Professor Bobo resonates so well with the situation in Chicago where “interrupters” reveal their side of the story and what they believe causes gang violence. In their pursuit of making difference, the experience by the interrupters reveal issues like lack of education, poverty and unsafe environment as some of the propagating factors of violence in their neighborhood. References The Importance of Research on Race, Crime and Punishment. (n.d.). Video: Lawrence Bobos Keynote -.

Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://nij.ncjrs.gov/multimedia/video-nijconf2011-bobo-keynote.htmThe Interrupters. (n.d.). PBS. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/interrupters/