Mass Incarceration - Myths and Misconceptions

You may know that the US population of imprisoned individuals has grown significantly in the last 40 years, but do you really know why?

Transcript

1. MASS INCARCERATION Dismantling Myths and Misconceptions Renee Chu - @reneighbor Corbin Halliwill Chris Hendrix - @materialdesignr Colby Sato - @colbysat
2. INTRODUCTION
3. INTRODUCTION
4. MYTH #1 “The rise in prison populations is 
 related to the rise in crime”
5. MYTH #2 “The criminal justice system is colorblind”
6. MYTH #3 “Once you leave the criminal justice system, you have an equal opportunity to rebuild your life.”
8. MYTH #1 “The rise in prison populations is 
 related to the rise in crime”
9. REALITY #1 The rise in prison populations is related to
 political and economic motivations.
10. POLITICALLY
11. Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 John F. Kennedy Assassination 1963 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson signs the “Civil Rights Act” “Year of Birmingham” 1952 1960 1964 1955 Vietnam War starts
12. “From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that...The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.”
 
 - Kevin Phillips, Nixon's political strategist, 1970
13. Richard Nixon writes in Reader’s Digest, “What has happened to America?” 1967 1971 1972 Richard Nixon creates the Drug Enforcement Agency 1968 1972 Richard Nixon declares the “War on Drugs”
14. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people…We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
 
 - John Ehrlichman, Nixon domestic policy advisor
15. Bill Clinton commutes 70 sentences in 1st term as governor 1980 1992 Bill Clinton says “no one can say that I’m soft on crime”, attends execution of Ricky Ray Rector 1980 1984 1992 1988 Democratic Leadership Council created 1985 James C Wright. Jr (D-TX) introduces the Anti-Drug Abuse Act 1986
16. ECONOMICALLY
17. FEDERAL FUNDING • 1988 — Congress amends Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADAA–88) • Established Byrne Grant program to give federal grant money for narcotics task forces (~$180 million per annum) • 2016 — $15.2 billion to be used on “supply reduction” out of $31.1 billion Federal Drug Control Budget
18. CIVIL FORFEITURE • 1978 — The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is amended. • It now allows law enforcement to seize all money and/or "other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance [and] all proceeds traceable to such an exchange." • 1996 — Civil forfeiture upheld by the Supreme Court • By 2014, >$4.5 billion in cash and/or property seized by federal agencies per year
19. November 14, 2012 Columbia Citizens Police Review Board Meeting
20. PARAMILITARY EQUIPMENT • 1878 — Posse Comitatus Act prohibits military resources for civilian policing • 1981 — President Reagan persuaded Congress to pass the Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act. It allows the U.S. military to give law enforcement agencies access to its military bases and its military equipment. • 1997 alone — Pentagon handed over more than 1.2 million pieces of military equipment to local police departments
21. “I was offered tanks, bazookas, anything I wanted” - Nick Pastore, former Police Chief of New Haven Timothy Egan, “Soldiers of the Drug War Remain on Duty,” New York Times, Mar. 1, 1999
22. MYTH #1 “The rise in prison populations is 
 related to the rise in crime”
24. MYTH #2 “The criminal justice system is colorblind”
25. REALITY #2 The criminal justice system
 disproportionately targets black Americans,
 using the War on Drugs as justification
26. RATES OF USE ARE SIMILAR • White and black Americans were nearly equally likely to have have used illegal drugs in the past year. • White Americans make up the greatest number of drug users • For some drugs, black Americans were less likely to have used. Prosecution Arrest Search Use Source: “National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011 (cited in Vox.com, July 2014)
27. RATES OF SELLING ARE SIMILAR Studies repeatedly confirm that people who use illegal drugs usually purchase from people of similar backgrounds: age, location, race. Prosecution Arrest Search Use 
 [1]: National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2000. Cited in “The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” Alexander, Michelle. 2010. (99-100) • White youth (12-17 years old) 33% more likely than black youth to have sold drugs [1].
28. …BUT RATES OF STREET SEARCH ARE NOT Prosecution Arrest Search Use STOP AND FRISK Racial Breakdown 7% 8% 85% Black White Other New York City, 2008 [1] Center for Constitutional Rights, "Racial Disparity in NYPD Stops-and- Frisks: Preliminary Report on U-250 Data from June 2005 through June 2008." 2009. [2] Al Baker and Ray Rivera, "Study Finds Tends of Thousands of Street Stops by N.Y. Police Unjustified." New York Times, 2010. cited in “The New Jim Crow.” (135) New York City, 2008 [1]: • African Americans are 85% of all stop and frisks • Whites are 8% of stop and frisks • 545,000 total stops in one year Highest concentration neighborhood: Brownsville, Brooklyn (predominantly African American). Residents frisked 13 times the city average [2].
29. RATES OF CAR SEARCH ARE NOT PROPORTIONAL CAR SEARCHES Race of driver 83% 17% Black Non-Black Race of people stopped/searched 30% 70% Prosecution Arrest Search Use “The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” Alexander, Michelle. 2010. (135) Baltimore, Maryland, I-95, 1990’s: • African Americans are 
 70% of stop/searches • African Americans are 
 17% of drivers
30. "YOU HAVE TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS" • Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant: "The primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions." [1] • 40% of grants went to narcotics task forces [2] • Performance metrics reward by the quantity of arrests and convictions • "It's sheer numbers [...] You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince." California state highway patrolman [3]. [1] Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant website. https:// www.bja.gov/jag/ [2] US Department of Justice, "Department of Justice Drug Demand Reduction Activities." 2003. Cited in "The New Jim Crow" (73) [3] Gary Webb. "Driving While Black" Esquire, 1999. Cited in "The New Jim Crow."
31. DISPROPORTIONATE ARRESTS [1] "Decades of Disparity Drug Arrests and Race in the United States." Human Rights Watch, 2009. Cited in Vox.com Prosecution Arrest Search Use • Black Americans are 3.6x more likely to be arrested for drug- related charges than white Americans in 2007 [1]. • 4 out 5 arrests are for drug possession, not sales [1].
32. DISPROPORTIONATE RATES OF INCARCERATION • Rates of incarceration per 100,000 population [1] [1] US Census Bureau, 2010-2013. United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics, 1978-2014. Cited in The Sentencing Project. "The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons" 2016. • White Americans imprisioned at a rate of 275 per 100,000 • Black Americans imprisioned at a rate of 1,408 per 1000 If you are a black American, you're over 5x more likely to be imprisioned than if you are white.
33. ALL WHITE JURIES All White Juries have overall negative results for black defendants. Prosecution Arrest Search Use Conviction Rates Black Defendant White Defendant All White Jury 81% 66% Jury with at least one Black member 71% 73% Source: "How big of a difference does an all-white jury make? A leading expert explains." The Washignton Post. 2016.
34. CAN BE EXCLUDED FOR BEING: • Too Old • Too Liberal • Too Conservative • Too comfortable • Too uncomfortable • Wearing sunglasses or a hat • Education • Unemployment • Poverty • Being single • Living in same neighborhood ALL WHITE JURIES ARE LEGAL Prosecution Arrest Search Use
35. MYTH #2 “The criminal justice system is colorblind”
37. MYTH #3 “Once you leave the criminal justice system, you have an equal opportunity to rebuild your life.”
38. REALITY #3 Because you face systemic legal hurdles in 
 housing, employment, and financial stability, 
 you never leave the criminal justice system.
39. HOUSING
40. HOUSING Eviction for criminal activity “on or near” public housing 1988 Denied application for criminal activity “on or off” public housing 1996 Bill Clinton advocates for tougher housing laws 1996 Denied application for criminal activity in “reasonable period” 1998 Public Housing Authority funding tied to 
 “criminal screening” 1998
41. HOMELESSNESS • 25% of homeless shelter tenants have been incarcerated in the past year • 30–50% of people under parole supervision in LA and SF were homeless Use of jails in NY State when supportive housing was provided: • State jails: 74% ↓ • City jails: 48% ↓
42. JOBS
43. JOBS • 40 ⁄ 51 jurisdictions require parolees to “maintain gainful employment.” • Can be sent back to prison if they do not. • State licensing boards in growing number of professions prohibit the hiring of people with convictions, even if conviction was unrelated
44. LICENSING BOARDS LICENSING BOARDS: • Registered Nurse • Real Estate Agent • Insurance Agent • Cosmetologist • Barber • Tax Professional MISDEMEANORS: • Drunk in public • Disturbing the peace • Driving on a suspended license • Trespassing • Marijuana possession • Vandalism
45. ARRESTS Permit all employers and agencies to consider arrests Can employers and occupational licensing agencies consider arrests not leading to conviction? Prohibit some employers and agencies to consider arrests Prohibit all employers and agencies to consider arrests https://lac.org/roadblocks-to-reentry/main.php?view=report
46. FINES & FEES
47. FINES & FEES • Average LFO per felony conviction: $1,300 $0 $600 >$1200 $1200 Average monthly salary in year prior to arrest • Interest begins accumulating at time of sentencing
48. BRIEF LIST OF FINES & FEES • Book-in fees • Jail per diem • Public Defender application fee • Bail investigation fee • Pre-sentence report fee • Public Defender recoupment fees • Work-release program fees • Monthly parole or probation fees • Late fees • Payment plan fees • Drug testing fees • Probation department fees • Victim penalty assessment • Crime victims compensation
49. CONSEQUENCES OF NOT PAYING • Can be sent back to prison • Can lose driving license • Cannot vote, serve on juries, or run for elected office Cannot be cleared by declaring bankruptcy
50. MYTH #3 “Once you leave the criminal justice system, you have an equal opportunity to rebuild your life.”
52. CALL TO ACTION YOUR EDUCATION • Watch 13th, June 8th 2017 • Join The New Jim Crow bookclub YOUR MONEY & VOLUNTEERING • Ella Baker Center • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children / All Of Us Or None • Californians for Safety and Justice YOUR VOICE • AB42/SB10 - Money Bail Reform • SB180 - Repeal Ineffective Sentencing Enhancements http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html
53. AB42/SB10—MONEY BAIL REFORM BACKGROUND: • Average cost of bail is >$50,000 in California • Bail bond agencies takes a 10% non-refundable fee • Many owned by insurance conglomerates BILL WOULD: • Replace with risk-assessment tools • Replace with pre-trial services (e.g. cell-phone, transportation, addiction services) https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/ca/issues/alert/?alertid=76478626&type=ST
54. SB180—SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS BACKGROUND: • Sentencing enhancements add to sentence of current conviction • 3 years for every prior drug conviction (even if term was served) • Often used to bully defendants into plea deals BILL WOULD: • Repeal these sentencing enhancements for non-violent drug offenses • Keep those for crimes involving a minor or manufacture of methamphetamines
55. CALL TO ACTION YOUR EDUCATION • Watch 13th, June 8th 2017 • Join The New Jim Crow bookclub YOUR MONEY & VOLUNTEERING • Ella Baker Center • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children / All Of Us Or None • Californians for Safety and Justice YOUR VOICE • AB42/SB10 - Money Bail Reform • SB180 - Repeal Ineffective Sentencing Enhancements http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html
56. QUESTIONS?
58. SOURCES & ATTRIBUTIONS • Megaphone by matthew hall from the Noun Project • Books by Abdo from the Noun Project • Money by Deepz from the Noun Project • Hand by Chameleon Design from the Noun Project