Incarceration of African American men between ages 25-29 - Research Paper Example

In fact incarceration rate among the African American youths of 25 29 are extremely higher than that in the same age group of people from other communities. It is a fact that criminal rate among African American community is on the higher side; yet such an explanation may not fully address this issue. Plenty of other reasons are cited for this disparity. The objective of this research is to investigate this disparity and identify the reasons. 2. Main point one a. According to a recent Business Week report, the employment/population ratio for black males aged 16-24 was 33 percent whereas that among white community was 52 percent (Coy, 2012).

This statistics clearly address the root cause of increased crime rate among black community. Unemployed black youths may engage in antisocial activities which may finally end up in their imprisonment. b. Only 2.4% of Hispanic men and 1.2% of non-Hispanic white men of the same age group are incarcerated. From these statistics, it is evident that African American population is facing severe oppression in America because of various reasons such racial discrimination, stereotyping etc. 3. Main point two a.

According to Dr. William D. Richie, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Meharry Medical College, “Instead of getting health care and education from civil society, African American males are being funnelled into the prison system. Much of this costly practice could be avoided in the long-term by transferring funds away from prisons and into education,” (Chiles, 2012). Lack of education is another major reason for the increased crime rate among African American people.

American government should encourage education among this population to reduce crime rate 4. Main point three Law enforcement officers, juries and law makers are targeting African Americans. Those who defend racial profiling note that if African Americans are more likely to commit crime, then it makes sense for law enforcement agents to target African Americans with surveillance, police presence, and traffic stops. Unfortunately, in some cases, the targeting or treatment of a population is based more on myths or stereotypes about that racial/ethnic population than on empirical evidence (African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, 2007, p.247). 5.

Main point four a. The rate of imprisonment among white community is less compared to that among black community. “A report by the U.S. Department of Justice on sentencing in state courts found that 33% of convicted white defendants received a prison sentence whereas 51% of African American defendants received prison sentences (African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, 2007, p.247). This fact clearly indicates the racial profiling and stereotyping existing in American courts. b.

Stephen Gillers reported for New York Times (March, 21, 1999) that “four white police officers shot and killed a young unarmed black man named Amadou Diallo in the vestibule of his Bronx tenement. A lawyer for the officers later called the shooting justified because Diallo fit the general description of a rape suspect and because he appeared to be reaching for a weapon” (Gillers, 1999). It should be noted that the police officers would have never killed the culprit if he was of white origin.

The police officers know very well that they can easily escape