Diversity in Prison

Diversity in Prison The late twentieth century is seeing a rise in racial conflict in the United States as well as on the universal stage in a broad-spectrum (Phillips & Bowling, 2002). Statistics indicate that racial/ethnic minorities, particularly black males, face a disproportionately high risk of incarceration in the United States. This determination is made by assessing the negative impact that incarceration can have on individuals, their communities, and the integration of minorities into the nation’s larger social, economic, and political landscape (Yates, 1997). Discrimination in the incarceration of blacks clearly stands out as today’s (Greenfield, 2011) most critical issue in the study of race, crime, and justice. The criminal justice system is rooted in a philosophy of equality and justice for all. Policymakers, practitioners, and academics must continually monitor closely for the potential for discrimination and vigorously search for its sources (Phillips & Bowling, 2002). Crime statistics have played an important role and given discussion to the correlation between race and crime. However, this has caused controversy among the nation, and it raises debates on the causes and contributing factors to the racial incarceration percentages.
The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program has been collecting statistics on prisoners at midyear and yearend under a Congressional mandate since 1926. The Census Bureau serves as the data collection agent for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS depends entirely upon the voluntary participation of State Departments of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for NPS data (Greenfield, 2011). The NPS distinguishes between prisoners in custody and prisoners under jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the federal system must hold that prisoner in one of its facilities. To have jurisdiction over a prisoner, a state or the federal system must have legal authority over the prisoner. Some

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