NCJ Number
171267
Journal
American Sociologist Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1995) Pages: 20-29
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Over the past decade, the United States has been building more prisons and incarcerating more people than at any other time in history, and the net of the criminal justice system has particularly enveloped the lives of young black males.
Abstract
According to government statistics, blacks constitute only 15 to 20 percent of drug users but 50 to 66 percent of those arrested in urban areas for drug offenses. Some judges have begun to throw out cases in which there is obvious racial bias in administering drug laws. Drug regulation has affected the races quite differently with regard to prison incarceration rates. Moreover, Federal law is not race-neutral on drug law offenses. The differential impact of sentencing and relationships among race, crime, incarceration rates, and long-term sentencing are discussed. The debate over whether to build more prisons or to increase expenditures to keep people out of prisons is examined, particularly in the context of legislative initiatives, violent crime, police patrols, employment opportunities for young people, and other socioeconomic issues. Sociological explanations for rising crime rates and fear of crime are offered. 18 references and 23 notes