Incarceration of African American Men between Ages 25-29 - Coursework Example

Incarceration of African American men between ages 25-29 Outline Topic Introduction Nearly 10% of all African American men aged 25–29 are incarcerated in the prison system. This statistic does not include those African American men who are in local jails, either awaiting trial or serving sentences less than 1 year in length, nor does it include those African American men under custodial supervision: those on parole or probation (African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, 2007, p.249) Even though the number of African Americans in American population is less than that of the number of whites, incarceration rate among them are comparatively higher. 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 from punishment with the help of expert lawyers, even after unnecessarily killing a black youth. c. “Police stops of Native Americans, blacks and Hispanics are more likely to result in searches. Drug enforcement patterns differentially affect these groups in ways that cannot be justified by drug use or distribution patterns”(Whisner, 2011). White youths are not far behind to black youths in using drugs or alcohols. Yet, when it comes to punishment, they are getting less punishment than the black youths. Juries consider the drug abuse cases of black youths as if a crime with respect to killing a person. 6. Conclusions African American black youths are facing severe oppression from American judiciary. 7. References 1. African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, (2007). Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/14873_Chapter9.pdf 2. Coy, P. (2012). The Plight of Young, Black Men Is Worse Than You Think. Business Week. September 28, 2012 3. Chiles, N. (2012). U.S. Could Save Billions, Lift Black Community by Treating Instead of Jailing Drug Users. Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved from http://atlantablackstar.com/2012/11/12/u-s-could-save-billions-lift-black-community-by-treating-instead-of-jailing-drug-users/ 4. Gillers, S. 1999. The Double Standard. The New York Times. March 21, 1999. 5. Whisner, M. 2012. Race in the Criminal Justice System Retrieved from https://lib.law.washington.edu/content/guides/racecrim Incarceration of African American men between ages 25-29 Nearly 10% of all African American men aged 25–29 are incarcerated in the prison system. This statistic does not include those African American men who are in local jails, either awaiting trial or serving sentences less than 1 year in length, nor does it include those African American men under custodial supervision: those on parole or probation (African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, 2007, p.249) 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. It is a fact that crime rate among African American community is comparatively more than that among other communities. However, the above explanation does not fully address this issue. There are plenty of other reasons for the increased imprisonment rate among African American community. The increased rate of occurrence of incarceration among African Americans is generating lot of social problems in their community. Most of this younger generation acquire HIV/AIDS from jails and dying there itself, leaving their wives and families in miserable conditions. Those who are able to come out from jails may not get employment and they may transmit HIV/AIDS to their wives or sexual partners. In short, incarceration of African American youths not only causes problems to the individuals but also to the communities in which they come from. This paper analyses the reasons and social dimensions of increased incarceration rate among African American males, especially in the age group of 25-29 Why black men in this age group so much, more likely to be in jails than are people of white origin? 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. For example, unemployment and lack of financial abilities force black youths to take shelter in narcotic drugs or alcoholism. These bad habits give them the necessary courage to perform antisocial activities such as sexual violence, burglary, violence etc. 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. Basically African American population are fun loving people. They give less importance to education and more importance to enjoyment. Lack of education prevents them from getting decent jobs. White people on the other hand give more importance to education and hence they have more chances of securing a decent job after their education. Governmental policies are another reason for the increased incarceration rate among black youths. American government policies are not much effective in preventing black community from reaching jails. Government is spending billions to put the culprits in jails; however, it spends less to prevent the reasons for the occurrence of crimes. What factors or variables are associated with this disparity? Racial profiling and sentencing disparities are the major reasons for the increased incarceration rate among black youths. Racial profiling is intensified in America, especially after the 9/11 incident. Both the government and the judiciary seem to believe that black people are primary culprits in most of the crimes occurring in America. Such stereotyping forces the authorities to take stern actions against the black criminals. It should be noted that white youths are comparatively more influential than black youths and hence it is easy for them to escape from punishments even after committing serious crimes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that since September 11th, nonwhites are more likely to be subjected to more extensive searches in airports and train stations. But the most reliable data come from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the law required that local law enforcement agencies collect data on the race, ethnicity, and gender of all people involved in traffic stops. The latest report, released in April 2005, noted that there were no racial differences in the probability of being stopped, but that African Americans (and Hispanics) were more likely to be subjected to “forced search” of their cars and more likely to have “force used against them”. There is substantial evidence to support the argument that African Americans receive stiffer sentences than their white counterparts who commit the same crime (African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, 2007, p.246). Even though racism is abolished in America many decades before, still it is evident in many forms in social life. Sometimes facts are stranger than fiction. It should not be forgotten that America is currently ruled by a person of black origin. Yet, oppressions against the black community are growing. Obama is not much keen in solving the problems of African American community. He is more interested in solving current economic problems. In fact the elite white community may not allow Obama to work in favor of the black community. He knows very well that if he does something in favor of the black community, he may face racial charges. What happens to them in criminal justice system? American judiciary seem to believe in implementing two types of justices; one for the black people and another for the white people. Black people always get severe punishment than white people even if both commit same crime. This is because of the fact that majority of the people working as investigating officers, lawyers, juries and law makers in America are from white community. As mentioned earlier, it is difficult for the black people to hold such positions because of lack of education among them. White investigating officers investigate the crime committed by the black people with more interest. The same police officers may not investigate crime properly of the accused happens to be of white origin. Same partiality will be showed by the lawyers and law makers. Juries on the other hand, hear the cases against white people sympathetically whereas they may not show any mercy towards the black culprits. “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) 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). The incidence of criminal prosecution, convictions prison sentences and time served by race and ethnicity for African American, Hispanic and white men 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 from punishment with the help of expert lawyers, even after unnecessarily killing a black youth. Lawyers and investigating offices in America have the habit of working only for the protection of white community. Race should not be counted when police investigates cases or deal with crime situations. Same principle is applicable for the courts and lawmakers also. Police and criminal justice system should deal only with crime and justice rather than race or colour of skin. “Police stops of Native Americans, blacks and Hispanics are more likely to result in searches. Drug enforcement patterns differentially affect these groups in ways that cannot be justified by drug use or distribution patterns”(Whisner, 2011). White youths are not far behind to black youths in using drugs or alcohols. Yet, when it comes to punishment, they are getting less punishment than the black youths. Juries consider the drug abuse cases of black youths as if a crime with respect to killing a person. The same juries may consider such crimes as a juvenile crime, if it was committed by a white youth. In short, American criminal justice system definitely treats black youths as second class citizens when they hear cases against them. From the above descriptions, it is evident that structural inequality still persists in America. Structural inequality is a condition in which people from particular community enjoys superiority over others. Even though America is believed to be the most civilized country in the world, it is not free from the evils of structural inequality. It should not be forgotten that America is one country which still gives capital punishment for severe crimes. Most of the victims of capital punishment would be black people. As stated earlier, white juries give capital punishment to white criminals only on rare occasions. However, they have no reluctance in giving such punishments to the black people, even for less severe crimes. Conclusions Plenty of African American youths, especially those who in the age group of 25-29, are incarcerated in America, even for drug offence like simple crimes. American criminal justice system and police force are dominated by the white community. They will hear or investigate the cases sympathetically if the criminal happens to be of white origin whereas they will hear or investigate the cases aggressively if the accused happens to be of black origin. Racial profiling and stereotyping are still prevalent in American criminal justice system. That is why black youths get severe punishment even for silly crimes. References African American Males and the Incarceration Problem, (2007). Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/14873_Chapter9.pdf Coy, P. (2012). The Plight of Young, Black Men Is Worse Than You Think. Business Week. September 28, 2012 Chiles, N. (2012). U.S. Could Save Billions, Lift Black Community by Treating Instead of Jailing Drug Users. Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved from http://atlantablackstar.com/2012/11/12/u-s-could-save-billions-lift-black-community-by-treating-instead-of-jailing-drug-users/ Gillers, S. 1999. The Double Standard. The New York Times. March 21, 1999. Whisner, M. 2012. Race in the Criminal Justice System Retrieved from https://lib.law.washington.edu/content/guides/racecrim Read More