User:Lfreeman333/Incarceration in the United States
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"History" Edits
In 1841,
Following the
Race and ethnicity[edit]
Broader socioeconomic inequality and disparities at each stage of the criminal legal process result in the disproportionate imprisonment of people of color. In 2021, people of color constituted over two-thirds (69%) of the prison population. Nationally, one in 81 African American adults are serving time in America's state prisons. Black Americans are imprisoned at 5 times the rate of white people, and American Indians and Hispanic people are imprisoned at 4 times and 2 times the white rate, respectively. Black and Hispanic people make up 33% of the U.S. population but 56% of the incarcerated population.
Features of the criminal justice system
Prison education
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 prompted the collection of employment data and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act required collection of data for school funding.[3] However, the true depth of inequality in education was not known despite several significant education policies being enacted because inmates were excluded from federal surveys.[3] Studies in the 1990s by psychologists, social justice advocates, scholars, and researchers showed that inmate exclusion grossly inflates education attainment rates as the prison population grows and the Pell Grant ban severely impacted the reintegration of formerly incarcerated people to reintegrate back into society. [3][4] This resulted in the restoral of federal Pell Grant funding for Prison Education Programs (PEP) and legislation like California bill SB416 that protects incarcerated students from predatory lending.[4]
Prison education has proven to lower recidivism rates and increase employment for graduates upon release. A 2013 study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that correctional education led to a significant reduction in recidivism rates, and those who participated in prison education programs showed "43% lower odds of recidivating than inmates who did not." That same study showed that individuals who received vocational education and training saw a 28% increase in employment following incarceration, and those who participated in strictly academic educational programs saw an 8% increase in employment.