Do drug law enforcement procedures and mandated sentencing laws contribute to poverty and violence in our cities?
Where are the gangs located?
Where are kids raised by a single parent or no parents?
Where do most of the inmates in prison come from?
Where has our family structure suffered the most?
Do we make the situation worse with our tough drug enforcement policy?
Earlier this year, a New York Times article written, by John Tierney, featured four reasons why so many city families who reside in low-income neighborhoods become trapped in poverty:
1. The parents can't find jobs and if they do, it's minimum wage, well below the poverty level.
2. The most lucrative job is one that, sadly, is most prevalent - illegal drug sales.
3. Incarceration follows. [1]
Where are the gangs located?
Where are kids raised by a single parent or no parents?
Where do most of the inmates in prison come from?
Where has our family structure suffered the most?
Do we make the situation worse with our tough drug enforcement policy?
Earlier this year, a New York Times article written, by John Tierney, featured four reasons why so many city families who reside in low-income neighborhoods become trapped in poverty:
1. The parents can't find jobs and if they do, it's minimum wage, well below the poverty level.
2. The most lucrative job is one that, sadly, is most prevalent - illegal drug sales.
3. Incarceration follows. [1]
4. "Prison has become the new poverty trap," according to Bruce Western, a Harvard sociologist - " a routine event for poor African American men and their families creating an enduring disadvantage at the very bottom of society."
In late 2011, as a trial court judge of 20 years, I felt compelled to publish a book on this very subject. The entire second chapter of my book, Justice or Just This - A Constitutional Trespass (www.jeffreysprecher.com) is dedicated to the devastation of the family structure. For instance, women - most likely mothers - have incarceration rates 11 times greater now than 30 years ago.
The battles are fought in the city
We have lost the "war on drugs" and what's worse, taken far too many city residents prisoner. I firmly believe we have unintentionally declared war on our cities and the statistics prove it. Although illegal drug use is the same for blacks and whites, the incarceration rate per capita is not. We all have seen reports concluding African Americans have been arrested and imprisoned at a far greater rate than whites. Mr. Tierney points out such a statistic:
"Among African-Americans who have grown up during the era of mass incarceration, one in four has had a parent locked up at some point during childhood. For black men in their early 20s and early 30s without a high school diploma, the incarceration rate is so high - nearly 40 percent nationwide - that they're more likely to be behind bars than to have a job."
28 years of progress?
Mr. Tierney's article further shows , by graph, that children of inmates has increased in numbers five-fold from half a million in 1980 to over 2.5 million by 2008. At the same time the employment rate for black men without a high school diploma decreased from 60% employment in 1980 to just 28% in 2008 while the incarceration rate for black men without that degree increased from 10% in 1980 to nearly 40% in 2008.
Education is essential
A similar statistic is published on subway cars in Philadelphia: "Without a high school diploma, you're up to 66 times more likely to end up a defendant in the criminal justice system" (quoting the Public Broadcasting System).
In late 2011, as a trial court judge of 20 years, I felt compelled to publish a book on this very subject. The entire second chapter of my book, Justice or Just This - A Constitutional Trespass (www.jeffreysprecher.com) is dedicated to the devastation of the family structure. For instance, women - most likely mothers - have incarceration rates 11 times greater now than 30 years ago.
The battles are fought in the city
We have lost the "war on drugs" and what's worse, taken far too many city residents prisoner. I firmly believe we have unintentionally declared war on our cities and the statistics prove it. Although illegal drug use is the same for blacks and whites, the incarceration rate per capita is not. We all have seen reports concluding African Americans have been arrested and imprisoned at a far greater rate than whites. Mr. Tierney points out such a statistic:
"Among African-Americans who have grown up during the era of mass incarceration, one in four has had a parent locked up at some point during childhood. For black men in their early 20s and early 30s without a high school diploma, the incarceration rate is so high - nearly 40 percent nationwide - that they're more likely to be behind bars than to have a job."
28 years of progress?
Mr. Tierney's article further shows , by graph, that children of inmates has increased in numbers five-fold from half a million in 1980 to over 2.5 million by 2008. At the same time the employment rate for black men without a high school diploma decreased from 60% employment in 1980 to just 28% in 2008 while the incarceration rate for black men without that degree increased from 10% in 1980 to nearly 40% in 2008.
Education is essential
A similar statistic is published on subway cars in Philadelphia: "Without a high school diploma, you're up to 66 times more likely to end up a defendant in the criminal justice system" (quoting the Public Broadcasting System).
[1] And new prisons, especially those in Pennsylvania, are located far away which makes parental contact with the children back home expensive and nearly impossible to attain. (Quote from author)
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