Top 3 reasons you should care about people who have been incarcerated
I care a lot about improving the criminal justice system and the people and communities incarceration impacts. As a social worker, a personal and professional mission is to improve social justice. Our criminal justice system is vast, complex, and wrought with social injustices. Every person in every community is an asset to improving our criminal justice system. For those of you that are not quite convinced that learning about the criminal justice system is worth your time, I wanted to share the top three reasons why you should care.
Reason #1: We all know someone who has been impacted by the criminal justice system.
The U.S. incarcerates more than two million people. Although this number is extraordinary, it doesn’t include the 6.7 million people on community supervision (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus15.pdf) and others awaiting prosecution for charges in the community. When looking across the system, one in 35 people were under some form of correctional supervision (e.g., probation or parole, jail, prison; https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5177). Being incarcerated has a strong impact on families and children including on their finances and relationships. This impact has affected some communities more than others. For example, one in three Black men and one in six Latino men will be imprisoned at some point in their life. This compares to one in 17 White men [read more]. These differences represent the racial disparity inherent throughout our criminal justice system. The Sentencing Project provides examples of why we might see differences across racial groups: differing levels of criminal activity, law enforcement emphasis on targeted communities, legislative policies, and decisions made by individuals in the system with power (link to a helpful manual for practitioners). When people in power create policies, make decisions about whether or not to arrest someone, make sentencing decisions, and propose alternatives to incarceration, a person’s race should not be a factor that impacts the decision. However, we see evidence of this across time. You can find one historical example here.
Reason #2: The vast majority of people in prison return home.
It’s true. Most people come home. It is also true that many people do not receive the kind of services that could rehabilitate them while in prison. The best way to make sure your community is safe is to advocate for people who have been arrested to receive quality rehabilitative services including treatment for mental health needs, substance use issues, vocational needs, work opportunity, civic rights, and health care. Did you know that people with histories of arrest have higher rates of victimization compared to people without criminal histories? One study found almost half of women incarcerated experienced at least one traumatic event while another study estimates that nearly 40% of incarcerated men and women are victimized while in prison [link]. Many people in need go without care in prisons. Some prisons do provide services, but many don’t.
Reason #3: Incarceration is expensive.
The annual cost of housing a Federal inmate is $30,619. This figure represents the average inmate, not someone with complex medical or mental illnesses. There are many prison alternatives that hold people accountable for their actions, keep communities safe, provide needed rehabilitative services, and cost less than incarceration. Problem-solving courts are one example of a way to divert people from prison. Research on problem-solving courts (e.g., Drug or Mental Health Courts) finds these programs keep communities safe while helping people rehabilitate while living in the community under intensive supervision from a team of court, probation, and treatment personnel. Given the disruption incarceration causes to individuals, families, and communities, more innovative and smart solutions like problem solving courts are needed. Read Shannon’s blog post on April 17, 2017 to learn more about Smarter Justice Solutions.
