English 102 1

Kameryn Trussell

English 102

Dr.Wynne

17 March 2017

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects that the increase on incarceration rates have

affected the African American community in comparison to other races. The study is answering

the research question, how has the incarceration rates increase affected African American males

rather than other races. It will also answer, how has the Justice Department 2014 Clemency

Initiative been significant to inmates, and what influence has incarceration percentage increase

has had on families and communities of African Americans. As a result, the goal of this review

will be to increase awareness on this topic and determine whether this has become a trend for

police to sentence African American males harsher than other races.

The topic of incarceration has impacted the United States tremendously, affecting not

only the community but also making drastic cuts to things such as education funding.

Incarceration rates have had a tremendous increase over the past 10 years. We find key evidence

that these rates have increased due to four main factors: crime, inequality, politics, and job

decrease. These factors have played a role in many states and has continued to be in coloration

with prison rate increase. Racial and political inequality in recent decades has created a gap in
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Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics since 1990. Seemingly, men seen to be living in disadvantaged

communities and with less education have a higher rate of being incarcerated across the

population. We will begin to discuss the changes that have occurred recently, as it will show the

increase over time.

Review of Literature

Crime rates in relation to incarceration rates

Crime rates have climbed which has had a precedent effect on incarceration rates. It is

said to be about 3 percent of adults in the United States in any type of correctional facility, and

this includes the 2.3 million individuals incarcerated including an additional 4.9 million

individuals on probation or parole (Glaze 2011). As crime rates continued to increase, it left

researchers to believe that during early childhood it was normal for black men to be

imprisoned (Freeman 1996; Irwin and Austin 1997). When making these claims, there are many

things to consider. To begin to study and make comparisons, you must begin to compare crime

rates between each race and age group, as well as life circumstances. Research shows that slim

economic opportunity among black men has increased their likelihood to be incarcerated.

Blumstein (1982,1993) heavily researched arrest rates, especially homicides, have come to more

thoroughly explain the gap in black-white incarceration percentage. These results contain

information display the estimated amount of crime down by location and race, associating the

amount of blacks associated with crime (Lagan 1985). Because of the arrest rates amongst

African Americans, given the drug and burglary rate (Blumstein 1993), racially indifferent are

found in some jurisdictions.

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Black men rates increase

Are their differences in incarceration rates based on race? There has been a significant imbalance

between say a black male and a white male. Why is that black people make up about 13.3

percent of the U.S. population while white people make up 77 percent, but black men have had

more people imprisoned across the nation (Williams 2016). Racial profiling can be one of the

reasons why black males increased 12 times (2003) more rather than other races. Stop-and-frisk

law was created under the Fourth Amendment. This law put a restriction on how a police cop

was able to search an individual they believed to be suspicious. 1968 marked the year where the

Supreme Court evaluated it under the Fourth Amendments protection, where it can only be done

if its a probable cause (N.Hill, T.Hill 1981-2005). Even so, blacks had reached a new high in

incarceration rates. Studies shows the wage inequalities held a role in the amount of black men

incarcerated. When observed on many occasions the earnings from workers and nonworkers

elaborated this approach. Jobless white men ages 22-64 incarcerated percentage was 3.2 percent

compared to jobless black men sitting at 10.8 percent in 1980-1999 (Blumstein, Alfred, and Beck

1999). Like many other researched made over the past decade, black men had a tremendous

decline in the early 1980s (Bound and Freeman 1992) and is still declining in society today.
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The Justice Department 2014 Clemency Initiative

April 23, 2014 was the day the President issued The Justice Department Clemency Initiative.

This would encourage federal inmates who were qualified to be able to reduce their sentence.

Under this new initiative, only inmates meeting the specific criteria that included standards such

as a non-significant criminal history, good conduct in prison, served at least 10 years, and no

violence prior to imprisonment or during, then they would be able to petition for a commuted

sentence (Cole 2014). Although this initiative was presented it did not last long. More so, black

males were seen to have less success to this new initiative because they more likely to be in a

gang or connected to more violence prior to imprisonment.

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How have incarceration rates impacted their families and communities?

Many of the males incarcerated have families at home where the children were affected

by their imprisonment at some point of their lives. African American children were said to have a

greater chance of an imprisoned parent in contrast to white children (Kopak, Smith-Ruiz 2015).

For these results to show truth, studies examining African American youth needed to be

conducted to see how they dealt with these adversities. With African Americans comprising

about half of the nations prison rates amongst minority groups (Clear & Frost 2014), these

numbers were said to outnumber other races, one out of every four African American children

born in 1990 had an imprisoned father (Mumola, 2000). With this, there has been reviews

showing the profound impact African American youth based on the incarceration rate increase

and shows the influence it has on them growing up. Child well-being studies (Reichman, Teitler,

Garfinkel, & McLanahan, 2001) expressed some outcomes of this increase being depression,

behavioral problems, aggression, and imprisonment. The feeling that they are separated form that

parent could create an immense amount of sadness and confusion (Johnston, 1995). Growing

youth need both parents in their life for guidance based on studies showing that a youth is less

likely to engage in reckless behavior rather than a child with one parent present.

Conclusion

The African American community has said to be the most impacted by the increase in

incarceration rates over the past few decades. Since the early years, these numbers have been

compared to other racial and minority classes and through each year the length of stay in prison

has increased, yet increasing the amount of black men imprisoned. As research continues, more

awareness to this topic has brought a general motivation to be and do better in the African

American community. Although these rates have yet to have a tremendous decrease, society has
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become more educated on the topic of incarceration. With an increase in knowledge, we can

decrease the amount of black males incarcerated.

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References

1. Western, Bruce, and Becky Pettit. BlackWhite Wage Inequality, Employment Rates,

and Incarceration. American Journal of Sociology, vol. 111, no. 2, 2005, pp. 553578.,

www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/432780.
2. Western, Bruce, and Christopher Wildeman. The Black Family and Mass Incarceration.

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 621, 2009, pp.

221242., www.jstor.org/stable/40375840.
3. WESTERN, BRUCE, and CHRISTOPHER MULLER. Mass Incarceration,

Macrosociology, and the Poor. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social

Science, vol. 647, 2013, pp. 166189., www.jstor.org/stable/23479100.

4. Abrams, David S. Estimating the Deterrent Effect of Incarceration Using Sentencing

Enhancements. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 4, no. 4, 2012,

pp. 3256., www.jstor.org/stable/23269741.

5. Rao, Ravindra R (02/01/2016). "Factors Affecting Drug Use During Incarceration: A

Cross-Sectional Study of Opioid-Dependent Persons from India". Journal of substance

abuse treatment (0740-5472), 61, p. 13.

6. Saperstein, Aliya, and Andrew M. Penner. The Race of a Criminal Record: How

Incarceration Colors Racial Perceptions. Social Problems, vol. 57, no. 1, 2010, pp. 92

113., www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/sp.2010.57.1.92.
7. Jackson, Henry J. "Race, Economy and Punishment: Inequity and Racial Disparity in

Imprisonment, 1972-2002." Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law

and Society, vol. 27, no. 2, 2014; 2013; pp. 226-243,

doi:10.1080/1478601X.2013.870073.
8. Modecki, Kathryn L. (08/01/2009). "Associations between individual and family level

characteristics and parenting practices in incarcerated African American fathers". Journal

of child and family studies (1062-1024), 18 (5), p. 530.

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