OXFORD, Ohio — Criminal justice reform is an issue that is raging in the United States. The nation faces very alarming rates of mass incarceration and heavy racial disparities. According to the Sentencing Project, two million people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails, a staggering 500% increase over the past four decades. What should be a system focused on public safety has increasingly targeted specific communities, particularly minorities.
Mass incarceration, the imprisonment of a comparatively large segment of the population, requires urgent attention. Rising crime rates are frequently attributed to societal issues, yet they stem mainly from flawed laws and policies like harsh sentencing and the war on drugs. These approaches overlook the root causes of crime and disproportionately impact Black and Latinx communities, perpetuating social and economic injustices.
In 2020, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported jail population counts by race and ethnicity, categorized by sex. The numbers reveal continued injustices: Nationally, the jail incarceration rate for Black people is3.5 times higher than that for white people. That disparity persists at every step, from initial arrest through final sentencing.
Others might say these disparities are because “Black people commit more crimes.” That line of thinking completely misses the underlying dynamics. Racial disparities in incarceration are symptoms of severe economic hardship, unequal policing, and unfair applications of justice.
According to the NAACP, many Black communities are highly policed and surveilled, which leads to higher arrest rates in these areas for minor crimes, and longer prison sentences. “One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to be sentenced to prison, compared [to] 1 out 6 Latino boys; one out of 17 white boys,” the NAACP reports. Low incomes, limited educational opportunities, and poor job prospects contribute to high crime rates in affected communities, worsening inequity at all levels due to biases in decision-making.
The war on drugs has been prosecuted with exceptional ferocity in communities of color despite consistency across racial lines in terms of drug use. Mass incarceration will steadily continue unless such disparities are acknowledged as the product of system choices rather than individual ones.
Such a crisis calls for an attack on many fronts. Policy reforms should focus on decriminalizing low-level, nonviolent offenses; changing drug laws; and diverting offenders to treatment instead of punishment by reforming mandatory minimum sentences.Improvement in probation and parole systems, effective drug treatment programs, and working out jail diversion strategies can also strike a balance in the criminal justice system.
Investing in mental health services and community support is essential, along with limiting prison privatization. Mitigating harsh sentences for nonviolent offenders and supporting re-entry programs can help reduce the impact of mass incarceration on communities.
The current system drains public resources — roughly a trillion dollars annually, according to a working paper from the Institute for Justice Research and Development. For every dollar spent on prisons, there are ten dollars in social costs that detract from education and community development, the paper found.
Olivia Gier is an undergraduate at Miami University of Ohio studying political science and sociology.LuAnn Montz, of Photography by LuAnn
Criminal justice reform should address the root causes of mass incarceration and racial disparities by prioritizing fairness, community investment, and rehabilitation. This involves tackling socioeconomic inequalities through education, job training, affordable housing, and police reform. We should advocate for fair sentencing and end mandatory minimums that disproportionately impact communities of color.
A just system would shift away from punishment toward prevention and restorative justice. Community investment in programs, people returning to the community, and accountability are the path to a safe and just society.
Olivia Gier is an undergraduate studying political science and sociology at Miami University of Ohio.
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