Race and Crime: The Incarceration of Black Essay

Race and Crime: The Incarceration of Black Men

Contemporary news outlets are frequently packed with reports of crimes and illegal activities involving Black men. In fact, the number of Black men who are prosecuted and convicted of crimes has steadily increased over the past three decades, causing a deepening concern about the racial divide that continues to grow in the American legal and penal systems. It's clear that more Black men go to prison than men of other races, and it's also clear that they serve longer prison sentences (Ekholm, 2006). This paper will investigate the causes of this phenomena and the impact it is having on both the Black community and our society as a whole. Through an investigation of the outcomes for black criminals and a comparison to other racial groups in the United States the writer aims to outline the impact that incarceration rates are having on the diversity and functioning of our courts, schools, communities, and workplaces.

This paper will survey a variety of data and information provided by scholarly articles, mainstream media sources, and human rights organizations. The writer intends to explore how, exactly these sources research and monitor incarceration rates. In addition, the paper will explore current theories proposed to reduce the rate of crime and incarceration among Black men. The writer will summarize key efforts and program models that have been successful in diverting young Black men from the justice system and rehabilitating Black men who have been involved in or convicted of crimes. This research also aims to indentify current research and recommendations that have been presented to the U.S. government and public by leading human rights groups.

Race and Crime: The Incarceration of Black Men

According to a report prepared by Frank Ackpadock (2003), director for the Center of Urban and Regional Studies at Ohio State University, Black individuals make up only 12% of the total U.S. population, but nearly 48% of the U.S. prison population is Black. These statistics, gathered through national census and reports provided by the United States Department of justice, are not consistent for other racial groups, such as Whites or Latinos, who both comprise larger percentages of the U.S. populations.

Ackpadock's (2003) research, which included extensive literature reviews of national studies, concluded that the disproportionate number of black men in the criminal justice system can be attributed to the fact that "incarcerated Black males are a criminalized urban underclass who tends to be poor, uneducated, unskilled and therefore unemployed or underemployed." In fact, a majority of studies indicate that lack of education and employment in the Black community can be directly linked to these high incarceration rates. Black men are more likely to drop out of high school than black females or other males, and school dropouts, as a whole, are more likely to commit crimes and face incarceration.…