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America only represents less than 5% of the world's population but accounts for a quarter of the entire of the world's prison population. Are Americans really that dangerous, violent and stupid? Approximately one in ten American adults is in prison, jail or on probation:
The numbers are even more appalling for men of color. In inner cities, more than half of Black men do not finish high school. By the time these men reach their 30's, 6 in 10 of them have spent time behind bars. 30% of all Black men with no more than a high school education have spent time in jail or prison. One in four young Black men between the ages of 20-29 is in jail, prison or on probation on any given day. The figure is drastically higher in poorer and more violent cities with large Black populations, like Baltimore, Maryland, where roughly 50% of all Black men in their 20's are under some form of legal supervision:
America leads the world in incarceration. Prior to the late 70's, only about 100 per 100K Americans were locked up. This matches the international average of incarceration. Today, that number is about 750 per 100K. All around the developed world, criminologists look at the American justice system with absolute horror. No where in the world is a nonviolent person more likely to be locked up for as long amounts of time as the good 'ol USA. What is going on here? Even though many other places worldwide experience more poverty than the USA, we lead the world in gun violence. Along with the world's highest incarceration rate, America has the highest number of total crimes and reported murders in the world:
Despite the fact that America has the world's largest prison population, many large major cities and inner city neighborhoods continue to have some of the worst violent crime rates on the planet. Detroit and New Orleans ranked in the top ten most dangerous cities in THE WORLD list last year. New Orleans has a murder rate of 90 per 100K. The murder capital of the world in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico has a murder rate of 130 per 100K. Mind you that the actual warzone of Baghdad in Iraq has a much smaller murder rate of 48 per 100K. Certain inner city ghetto neighborhoods in supposedly safer world class American cities have an astronomically higher murder rate. In 2004, the Hunter's Point district of San Francisco had about 45 murders in a community of roughly 25,000 people (half of all of SF's murders in 2004 occurred within the Hunter's Point area). That is a murder rate of 180 per 100K for the Hunter's Point neighborhood of SF in 2004.
It is obvious that crime and violent crime is NOT being deterred by an ever-growing prison population in America. Newer stricter laws are being passed every year. Almost every possible arrest results in the possibility of jail time in most places in America. Where I live in Maryland, you can be sentenced to jail for up to a year for possessing less than a gram of marijuana or even possessing a pipe which had been previously used to smoke marijuana.
When will this stop? Crime is only going to go up as the economy continues to crumble and millions of more people enter poverty and homelessness. It doesn't help that in many places homelessness is being criminalized with millions of new homeless people on the streets. This is not good in an economy where less than 5% of over a million applicants are being hired for low-wage positions at McDonald's, 25% real unemployment around the country, inflation causing the cost of living go up exponentially and slim unemployment benefits are drying up. It also doesn't help when there are anywhere from 70-400 applicants for single job positions in many places around the nation. People will naturally resort to crime to survive in these super-tight economic conditions. In the next few years, don't surprised if 1 in 5 Americans is on probation or behind bars. What a shame...
This is what I don't understand..(and I truly am confused, I'm not trolling). But to talk about how many people are in jail, well, they DID something to get into jail. We can say oh men of color are specifically high in that area. OK, but they had to DO something in order to get in jail.
I am someone who disagrees with drugs being illegal.
However, they are illegal. If you are caught dealing and/or using, it IS considered a crime regardless of what we believe.
With that being said, I don't understand how this is a "failed" system. How does a system lead to a bunch of "black men" dropping out of HS, and then of course end up selling/using drugs and lands in jail.
It's like... we have what's legal and illegal...and.. um.. if we choose to do something illegal, we end up in jail.
I don't know why that is a problem.
I suppose the problem IS simply why do we have so many people comitting crimes? Well, I'd like to know the answer to that. It'll NEVER reflect the person, it'll always be "their parents" "the school" "the man" "the system", etc.
This is a direct result of the far left breaking up families, especially that of minorities, through their social welfare programs.
No, it's the result of the far right fat cats who pay their employees so little that both parents have to work 2 jobs while a whole generation of latchkey kids are the result.
No, it's the result of the far right fat cats who pay their employees so little that both parents have to work 2 jobs while a whole generation of latchkey kids are the result.
Another creation by the far left. Don't you recall that was the women's lib movement that brought us the 2-working parent household as the norm; or, is your memory selective?
The welfare policies of the far left have broken up families making the father's presence in the home unneccesary for the financial support of the children. Under these liberal policies which once actually required a father to leave (1960's), the government steps in and financially assumes the role of the parent.
Another creation by the far left. Don't you recall that was the women's lib movement that brought us the 2-working parent household as the norm; or, is your memory selective?
The welfare policies of the far left have broken up families making the father's presence in the home unneccesary for the financial support of the children. Under these liberal policies which once actually required a father to leave (1960's), the government steps in and financially assumes the role of the parent.
Study-up Buzzcut!
You are aware that the first thing the welfare agency asks a women is where is the dad? He will be tracked down, do time in jail if he doesn't pay his child support and lose his driver's license as well.
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