Final Paper

Mass Incarceration and Racism in United States

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Mass Incarceration and Racism in United States

Introduction

Despite the fact that the crime rate has been declining in the United States for some time, now some of the practices that are carried out by the United States law making institutions are questionable in terms of how they relate to the overall welfare of the public. There is large number of incrementation that is carried out by the United States. The number of people who are facing such issues has increased at an unprecedented rate. The people who were in jail were at the record high in the last decade and still there are about 2.3 million people who are placed in the jail in United States. There are recent estimates that tend to suggest that despite the fact that the crime rates have declined at quite a great rate, there is still sentencing that is being done and there are suggestions that there is racial undertones when it comes to the way mass incarceration that is carried out in the United States. In this paper, it would be seen that how the mass incarceration is supposed to work in the United States, how the racism prevails among the institutions here and how the degree of control can be developed in this regard.

Mass Incarceration

The widespread incapacitation of the people in the prisons is carried out an extensive level of the United States. The interesting thing is that the way this whole process is being managed, more or less all the subgroups of the population are affected during the course of the whole process. Instead there is a systematic malaise where individuals from certain demographics are being targeted more during the course of the whole process. The disproportionate incarceration of the people is testament to the fact that racism as a problem is not eradicated in the United States and there is work that is still needed to be done to make sure that the degree of control is developed in this regard. For instance, the empirical evidence has showed that the people belonging to the racial group of the black Americans are 25 % more likely to be incapacitated during the interrogation process. On the other hand, the likelihood of white demographics being sentenced for the same issue is quite on the lower side. As a matter of fact, no social group has suffered more as compared to the black males like the people of United States as the black males. African-American adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than whites and Hispanics are 3.1 times as likely.4) As of 2001, one of every three black boys born in that year could expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as could one of every six Latinos—compared to one of every seventeen white boys. Racial and ethnic disparities among women are less substantial than among men but remain prevalent.

Concentration of the Incarceration of the Young Black Men

At the moment, as discussed above, there are about 2 million people who are facing some sort of sentence at the moment in the cases and they are facing live beyond bars. The mass incarceration has been generated and if one looks at the societal implications, there are far reaching consequences for the whole process. Not only the individual themselves are affected due to this mass incarceration, but the cases have been witnessed where children, families and even communities have been affected by the whole ordeal and thus the suffering of the people have increased with the passage of time. The mass incarceration and the criminal justice cases are carried out in the manner that it makes it quite hard to make sure that the community-based supervision of all the people is being carried out in the given moment of time. The problem is that once they have faced and completed their sentence, it is not the end of the difficulties that are being faced by these black young males. The research has showed that once they have faced some sort of incarceration, the likelihood that the chances that they are going to be getting any sort of employment at the given point of time are about 35 % more difficult for the normal candidates. Then there are range of healthcare issues that are faced by them, both the mental and physical that makes it quite hard them to make sure that they are able to integrate back easily in the society at the particular moment of time.

Looking into the Numbers of the Mass Incarceration

At the moment, if one looks at the numbers closely, the assessment can be made that how hard it is for lot of stakeholders in terms of how they are going to be making sure that the right amount of estimate can be developed in terms of the number of these cases. The interesting thing is that the number of felonies, and other forms of criminal convictions have increased but the most interesting that one can see is that how the racial disparity is witnessed in some of these cases. The estimates are that the black males are more likely to be facing incarceration in the minor cases and at the same time, the for the same cases, the punishment for the white young male is pretty much like a slap on the wrist.

Level of Engagement

The level of engagement is an important determinant in terms of how this whole process is supposed to be panned out. The police and the judicial system have an active role to play in this regard. The problem is that the institute that should be propagating the equality at all the levels is in such a rut that they find it hard to make sure that the more intensive forms of the contact and supervision are managed at the particular point of time. There are self-reports of the criminal offending that are supposed to be quite similar among the young black and white men. As per some of the recent estimates, the National Longitudinal Survey has pointed that the reporting mechanism for the solid illicit drugs is one of the most important components as far as the way drug control policy is needed to be formulated. On the other hand, the cases where black people are involved in some sort of violence are reported to be on the higher side. The other argument can be made in this case is that prevalence of the police stops and the increased level of surveillance is quite common for the people who belong to certain demographic and it is quite imperative to ensure that the similarities and the rate of offending are being found out in all the cases. The below mentioned table tends to give much more insight about the situation that is being faced in this regard at the given moment.

Concentration of the Incarceration in the United States

At the moment, the case can be made that how more acute concentration is witnessed among the African American and Latin men in terms of how the contact is being initiated by the criminal justice contacts. Towards the end of 2015, it was witnessed that how the level of education is also an important determinant in terms of how the judicial contact is supposed to be initiated. The lifetime risks that are related with the spending at least one year in prison are much common among black and Latino young men who have lower profile in terms of how the level of education is supposed to be worked out. In the hindsight, there is a strong case that can be made for both the side of the arguments. Such broad statistics mask the racial disparity that pervades the U.S. criminal justice system, and for African Americans in particular. African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, and they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences.

Overall Consequences of the Mass Incarceration

It has to be noted that the mass incarceration is something that is quite novel in terms of the way history of the people is supposed to work. Not only that, the concept is not witnessed in some of the other parts of the world and how the mechanism of the inequality is carried out. The context of the existing patterns is also quite important in terms of how the stratification is needed to be achieved in the labour market. The family structure of the people as well as how the neighbourhoods evolve with the passage of time and the level of exposure to the prison is something that is quite difficult to achieve for the normal populace. The other thing that is needed to be kept in mind is that what sort of image does it create about the law enforcement agencies. When the incarceration is carried out at such a massive level and there are racial undertones behind, it means that the level of confidence that people are going to be showing towards the legal structure is going to be quite complicated at the given point of time. So, all these determinants are very important as far as the way decision making is needed to be done at the particular point of time. Not only that, it would show that how there is lack of intent behind the law enforcement agencies to control the law and order situation and instead there whole concentration is towards making sure that Thus effort is needed to be made that in order to gain the trust of all the stakeholders, there has to be some sort of impartiality by the law enforcement agencies and that can be only made possible if the racism that is carried out at the level of the institutions is controlled.

Conclusion

In the hindsight it can be said that the institutionalized racism is something that is witnessed in the United States at the broader level at quite a common level. The problem is that it creates the impression about the law enforcement agencies that they are not really making sure that they are mitigating the law and order situation, and there whole focus is on making sure that they are carrying out the racial profiling of people and it creates lot of issues at the broader level. The other problem it creates is that it goes to show that how racism is prevailing at the level of the institutions and again it is a big concern for the United States society that is trying to be more inclusive. The source of such disparities is deeper and more systemic than explicit racial discrimination. The United States in effect operates two distinct criminal justice systems: one for wealthy people and another for poor people and people of color. The wealthy can access a vigorous adversary system replete with constitutional protections for defendants.

References

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Jee-Lyn García, J., & Sharif, M. Z. (2015). Black lives matter: a commentary on racism and public health. American journal of public health, 105(8), e27-e30.

López, I. F. H. (2017). Post-racial racism: Racial stratification and mass incarceration in the age of Obama. Calif. L. Rev., 98, 1023.

Roberts, D. E. (2016). The social and moral cost of mass incarceration in African American communities. Stan. L. Rev., 56, 1271.