Incarceration Trends In America
Incarceration Trends in America
DeVry University
Abstract
African Americans make up a curiously large portion of the incarcerated individuals in the United States. They are being incarcerated at a faster rate than those of other backgrounds such as Whites and Hispanics. Even though they make up a smaller part of the United States’ population, African Americans as well as Hispanics, comprise more than half of all prisoners in America. This is clearly a disproportionate racial composition. The factors contributing to this occurrence must be analyzed and evaluated. Perhaps this trend is inevitable due to certain conditions however; maybe these conditions can be altered. Therefore, upon investigating the causes of this incarceration trend, solutions must be made to this fix this disparity.
African Americans make up almost one million of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in America. They are being incarcerated at a rate of about six times than that of White people. Together with Hispanics, African Americans comprise approximately 58% of prisoners in the United States even though they make up only about a quarter of the United States population. If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rate as Whites, today’s prison population would decrease by approximately fifty percent. As of 2001, one in six black males were incarcerated. If these trends continue, one in three black males born today will spend time in prison during his lifetime (King & Mauer, 2007). The state of Wisconsin apparently has the highest percentage in the country of African American males incarcerated. More specifically, about one in eight of the black men of working age in this state are currently in state prisons. Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s biggest city appears to be the hometown to the majority of the state’s black male prison population. Due to this, there is a large population of basically
DeVry University
Abstract
African Americans make up a curiously large portion of the incarcerated individuals in the United States. They are being incarcerated at a faster rate than those of other backgrounds such as Whites and Hispanics. Even though they make up a smaller part of the United States’ population, African Americans as well as Hispanics, comprise more than half of all prisoners in America. This is clearly a disproportionate racial composition. The factors contributing to this occurrence must be analyzed and evaluated. Perhaps this trend is inevitable due to certain conditions however; maybe these conditions can be altered. Therefore, upon investigating the causes of this incarceration trend, solutions must be made to this fix this disparity.
African Americans make up almost one million of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in America. They are being incarcerated at a rate of about six times than that of White people. Together with Hispanics, African Americans comprise approximately 58% of prisoners in the United States even though they make up only about a quarter of the United States population. If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rate as Whites, today’s prison population would decrease by approximately fifty percent. As of 2001, one in six black males were incarcerated. If these trends continue, one in three black males born today will spend time in prison during his lifetime (King & Mauer, 2007). The state of Wisconsin apparently has the highest percentage in the country of African American males incarcerated. More specifically, about one in eight of the black men of working age in this state are currently in state prisons. Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s biggest city appears to be the hometown to the majority of the state’s black male prison population. Due to this, there is a large population of basically
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