Invisible Inequality: How Mass Incarceration Affects The Community
First is how mass incarceration affects the communities. One of the first issues that is talked about in the article is this issue of Invisible Inequality. “Inequality worsens both crimes of poverty motivated by need for goods for use and crime of wealth motivated by greed”, (Barak, et. al., 2015). This issue has many aspects but the main aspect of this issue is that when data is being collected for different types of community well-being studies such as unemployment the people that are incarcerated are not accounted for in the data that is collected. By doing this the effect on the communities is that the data that is being reported is not entirely accurate. When this data is not reported it makes the numbers look better than the situation
really is and makes those people that are incarcerated invisible. An example of this, is that in 2008 there was a study done that showed 40% of African American high school drop outs were employed (Western & Pettit, 2010). The problem with these results was that it did not take into account the African Americans that were incarcerated and not employed making the statistics look better than they really are. By not counting the people that are incarcerated in the statistic it harms the community because people and governments outside of the community don’t get to see the gravity of how it is affecting the community. This issue of an Invisible Inequality also shows up in other aspects of data gathering, “businesses and other institutions are excluded from estimates of victimization” Barak, et. al., 2015). When collecting data on victimization in a specific neighborhood businesses and other institutions are not counted in this data. This makes the victimization rates look better than they are because the data is not representing any crime where a business or institution was victimized. Another way mass incarceration can harm the community is the negative affect this has on the familial institution. “High rates of parental incarceration likely add to the instability of family life among poor children,”(Western & Pettit, 2010). When this issue is added onto other issues that children have to face such as racial inequality and class disadvantage it causes harm to these children and makes it even harder for these kids to be successful in our society.
really is and makes those people that are incarcerated invisible. An example of this, is that in 2008 there was a study done that showed 40% of African American high school drop outs were employed (Western & Pettit, 2010). The problem with these results was that it did not take into account the African Americans that were incarcerated and not employed making the statistics look better than they really are. By not counting the people that are incarcerated in the statistic it harms the community because people and governments outside of the community don’t get to see the gravity of how it is affecting the community. This issue of an Invisible Inequality also shows up in other aspects of data gathering, “businesses and other institutions are excluded from estimates of victimization” Barak, et. al., 2015). When collecting data on victimization in a specific neighborhood businesses and other institutions are not counted in this data. This makes the victimization rates look better than they are because the data is not representing any crime where a business or institution was victimized. Another way mass incarceration can harm the community is the negative affect this has on the familial institution. “High rates of parental incarceration likely add to the instability of family life among poor children,”(Western & Pettit, 2010). When this issue is added onto other issues that children have to face such as racial inequality and class disadvantage it causes harm to these children and makes it even harder for these kids to be successful in our society.