Race Relations in Los Angeles County Jails - Essay Example

You’re 26 October 2006 Race Relations in Los Angeles County Jails Introduction The relations between races, specificallyLatino’s and Blacks, in Los Angeles county jails has become a growing legal concern over the years. There are many different concepts as to why this problem is so prevalent but there are far fewer remedies that have been attempted to be implemented to change the phenomenon at present. It is believed however that the hate that exists between these two races is something that can be traced all the way back to the period of the violence surrounding “Rodney King” (Electronic Encyclopedia 2005). The differences between blacks and Latino’s are very complex and of course cross cultural related so there is no easy solution to be found to put a quick fix on the problem. However there have been steps that have somewhat placed a Band-Aid across the more sporadic problem areas but in the long run these aren’t viable solutions and will not have long-lasting affects either. One of the more pressing issues in the problem is the racial riots that break out in the Los Angeles jails. There are those that claim some percentage of this stems from blacks feeling they are facing racial disparity even in the legal system (China Society for Human Rights 2005). This just might have a plausible place in the dilemma as evidence does show that there are more blacks locked up in the jails in Los Angeles than any other race of people. Perhaps if the law was somehow changed to hold no favor for any criminal, regardless of ethnicity then there might be a shift in the violence in the jails, but there is no way to say for a certainty as this has not taken place. The Diversity of Los Angeles as a Possible Reason for Violent Racial Riots in Society and Jail It has been pointed out through other researchers that Los Angeles is one of the most diversified cities in the United States and therefore, everywhere there is a lot of racial tension among certain groups. This does not deviate simply because an individual is behind bars either. African Americans have long felt that Latin Americans are stepping on their turf and taking away their opportunities, it is one of the many reasons why violence exists between the races and therefore why when they are locked up together the violence escalates due to being in a confined space (O’Sullivan 2006). One of the more logical reasons why there are so many instances where Latin Americans and African Americans are being locked up in the first place has to do with the fact that was previously mentioned. African Americans view the on-slaught of Latin Americans coming into Los Angeles as the main reason why there are fewer jobs, less opportunities for advancement, lower wages, and more housing and economic distress which ultimately leads to violent outbursts between the races that is resulting in them being placed in jail. Once in jail the violence is still present and the issues that began the violence are still widespread so they become even more violent behind bars. The racial tensions are extremely high in the jails and this is why this year alone there have been so many racial violent outbursts in the jails. Again, there is no reliable solution to turn to for this dilemma as they are all in jail for crimes that they have committed. It is possible that they could be separated but in a close in environment such as a jailhouse, the housing is very confined and therefore there are going to be concurrent problems existing regardless of whatever measures are put forth. Robin Toma, a member of the County’s Human Relations committee states that they are aware of the escalating problems both in and out of a legal environment and they work to try and ease racial tensions but despite what initiatives they put forth there are still issues that are not being dealt with. Yes, from time to time there are tensions, and there will be clashes, and We’ve seen that in the jails, in the schools. We see that in the workplace from time to time. We are trying to track hate crimes and we know they exist. At the same time, we know there are literally thousands if not millions of interactions that occur where people get along perfectly well across racial ethnic, and cultural boundaries (O’Sullivan 2006). Obviously there needs to be a team community effort to quell the violence through communicative means not only in society but in the jails as well because it is just an ongoing process that is never going to end without it. The jails are having black and Latino gang members coming face to face where ordinarily they would only run into each other if one crossed the other’s gang turf. However, in jail there is no designated turf and they are all placed together, creating more havoc in an enclosed; yet legal environment that sometimes ends in deadly results. In jail, the races have no choice but to fight in order to defend themselves or otherwise they face being killed or victimized in some other way. As was stated, the trail of misunderstandings between the races does not dissipitate in jail but only gets gradually worse, which is definitely what has been taking place this year and in past years as well. There is no doubt that the racial riots disrupt jail life for other inmates, what little life that they do have that is. The violence is just terribly severe and the riots that break out often end in someone being seriously injured or worse killed (Archibald 2006). What is being perceived is that black and Latino gangs are taking their racial hatred in behind bars which is resulting in the loss of life that could be easily avoided if some form of intervention was being put to good use, such as isolation, separation, counseling services, interventive communication, and other necessary steps. Separation of Races not Efficient in Quelling Racial Violence in Jails Although it was mentioned that the violence in jails might be minimized if races were somehow separated from one another, this still has not been proven to be sufficient in lowering the accident rate due to racial riots in the jail system. To validate this, in one detention center “Pitchess Detention Center”, blacks and Latinos were separated along racial barriers, with guards thinking this would be a viable solution to the problem but again it proved to be worthless in keeping the violence down for very long (Potter 2006). An uprising on February 9 of 2006 led to 22 inmates being seriously injured even though they had been being monitored and closely watched through separation tactics for a good amount of time. Somehow it still did not prevent there from being a riot among the ethnic groups and guards were caught in the middle of the violence in the jail. What happens is that when one disruptive violent occurrence takes place others soon gain wind of it and then in other parts of the detention center violence breaks out, sometimes to the point of losing all control. This trickles down to the other detention centers as word gets around that there was a racial fight at so and so and then those groups get angry and want to take out revenge on the others simply because one is one color or another, that is all it winds up amounting too. It isn’t a question about who is right or wrong, it is the inmate’s attitudes towards the other color that is leading to the insurmountable periods of violence and it is highly doubted that any form of communicative intervention can change such a situation. Now a secondary means that could be put into place would be to prevent there from being any outside correspondence to other gang members so that possibly there would be nothing to continue fueling the inner fires of hatred between the two groups (Potter 2006). In this way there would be no way that one group could find out about a riot that took place at a specific detention center and then try and gain revenge for the occurrence. Also, this would prevent the violence from spreading and possibly keep it more localized. Another thing that could possibly be done would be to have two detention centers set up for solely one race, one being for Latino’s and the other being for African Americans. If this type of plan would be formulated the violence would possibly be quelled instantaneously. If gang leaders outside of the jails can be blocked off from having communication with members inside the jail then there really are no way they can pass information back and forth. Therefore, as was mentioned, violence would decrease not only in the jails but out on the streets as well. Is Blocking Outside Communication the Answer to Quelling the Violence? It has been mentioned before that a fire can not be started without the fire-starter themselves. Every gang has leaders and more often than not the leaders are not the ones who are put in jail but rather it is those who are working for them. The leaders are the ones calling the shots and passing the information back and forth. Just like in an ant colony, if one eliminates the queen then the colony of ants soon breaks apart and dies as they can not survive without that communication from one another through the queen. The same can be said for the gang violence among the black and Latino people locked up in jail. If they have no outside influences fueling their rage then eventually it is going to dissipitate and although there would still be brush encounters it would not be as heavy as what is taking place currently. What one doesn’t know won’t hurt them, will this statement can be applied to those in jail too. If they don’t know there gang friend was injured over in detention center C then they won’t have any reason to plot retaliation against the other race and therefore there won’t be as much hatred developing. It seems like it is the only logical and feasible way to minimize the existing problems but the question is, can it actually be done? Now the Sheriff’s departments are looking at this situation in a totally different manner and haven’t thought to try a maneuver such as the one previously mentioned. Instead, what they feel would work best is placing those involved in gang riots up on higher criminal charges that would extend their sentences and inevitably force them to have to leave jail and face the state penitentiary lifestyle, something that no one wants to have to endure (Puttaiah 2006). Due to the fact that this year over 100 inmates have been badly injured and two have been killed due to the existing racial disparity, the Sheriff’s department see’s no other way, other than to charge them with a far more serious crime to get them sent out of the jail system and let state start taking measures to better control the entire situation. Minimizing the races in the jails might just be the answer if the legal system is not going to set aside specific detention centers for separate races or block outside communication either. There is evidence that shows inmates have been segregated in certain facilities and those at the higher risk of creating more violence are being subjected to stiffer penalties and being sent to the Mens Central Jail facility, obviously isolating them (Puttaiah 2006). For the others that have managed to gain control over the actions and violent outbursts, they are being reintegrated back into the system to take the place of those being removed so that there might possibly be an influence on the other inmates who have not been subjected to such treatment as yet. Maybe it might place a scare in between the races to decrease their violent tendencies towards one another from now on; it is not known for sure that it will wholeheartedly work though. However, public officials believe that it is worth a try in order to gradually minimize the violence altogether. The point is jail is not a happy place to begin with and there always will be episodes of violence but it can be kept under control and not allowed to escalate to severe proportions such as what it has been being. Conclusion With racial disparity issues it is often hard to know exactly what to do to minimize the violence that occurs due to this type of dysfunction in society. Within a jail type of environment it would be even more difficult to find the answers needed to keep it to a minimum. Nevertheless, it does seem that the Sheriff’s department is managing to get the situation gradually under control by coming up with new alternatives that just might work in the long run. The only things one can really do is wait and see and hope that the inmates can move past their racial issues and deal with their criminal charges, hopefully allowing for the correction system to instill some decent and sociable values into them to quell the violence. Works Cited Archibald, Randal. “More Injuries as Race Riots Disrupt Jails in Los Angeles.” 10 Feb. 2006. New York Times. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.htm?res=FBOA1EFE3E5AOC738DDDAB0894DE404482 China Society for Human Rights. “Racial Discrimination.” 2005. Chinese Network Information. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.humanrights-china.org/news/2005-3-31/2005331135005.htm Electronic Encyclopedia. “Race Riots.” 2005. The Newberry Library. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1032.html O’Sullivan, Mike. “Los Angeles Reflects on Race Relations.” May, 2006. IMDiversity.com. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian/community_people/voa_LA_race_relations_0506.asp Potter, Cathy. “Fresh Round of Race Riots Breaks Out in Los Angeles Jail.” 09 Feb. 2006. Jurist& Legal News and Research. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/02/fresh-round-of-race-riots-breaks-out.php Puttaiah, Asha. “Inmates in Los Angeles Prison Riots to Face Criminal Charges.” 17 Feb. 2006. Paperchase Newsburst. 26 Oct. 2006 http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/02/inmates-in-los-angeles-prison-riots-to.php Read More