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Criminal Justice System
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Written by Gayle M. Messinger   
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Our nation's criminal justice system is one of the greatest threats to civil rights that we face today.

Today, 500,000 Black men are incarcerated, and one out of every six African American men has spent time in prison. In addition, Black women face the highest rate of incarceration -- an increase of 800 percent over 20 years.

Not only have America's criminal justice policies been racially disproportionate, they have also resulted in billions spent on prisons at the cost of education.

Earlier this year, the NAACP released Misplaced Priorities, a national report that shows how state spending on incarceration undermines educational opportunity across America. In the last two decades, state spending on prisons has increased six times more than state spending on higher education, as the burden of education costs shifts to working families. The report makes public what we have known for years: America is creating a generation that is both undereducated and over-incarcerated.

The report also included research on the relationship between over incarceration and educational performance. In cities nationwide -- Los Angeles, Houston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and New York -- the greatest public investment in certain communities was money spent on incarceration. Yet, in these same neighborhoods, schools that are deprived of funding are struggling academically.

Mass incarceration is a result of rhetoric and policies that both Democrats and Republicans have pushed and embraced. Only strategies that cross ideological boundaries can be effective at reversing mass incarceration. For this reason, the NAACP joined forces with an array of unlikely allies -- including Newt Gingrich, former Republican speaker of the House; Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform; and Mike Jimenez, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association -- for the launch of Misplaced Priorities.

Fortunately, we have seen an increase in legislators willing to break from the ranks and support alternatives to incarceration. Over the last 10 years, New York has decreased its prison population by 20 percent while reducing crime rates as a result of undoing Rockefeller Drug Laws. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general, is leading a similar campaign for her state. Even with signs of reform, we have a long way to go. As state and federal government agencies struggle with budget priorities, we must continue to call for criminal justice reforms -- replacing "tough on crime" with "smart on crime" policies that work.

Our families, and generations to come, deserve nothing less.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 December 2011 )