tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21544126670188805882024-02-07T19:28:48.451-05:00Racism Wisconsin Style:essays by prisoners and othersWisconsin leads the nation in the percentage of its black inhabitants under lock and key.Most of the state’s Blacks live in the Milwaukee area, and most of its black prisoners are drawn from a handful of poor and economically deprived black communities where jobs, intact families and educational opportunities are the most scarce. So
Wisconsin, and particular the Milwaukee area merits the invidious distinction of the Worst Place in the Nation to be Black. - Black commentator magazineFFUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02860136791099005665noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-1267738271434411172012-02-05T15:46:00.001-05:002012-02-05T15:48:00.515-05:00June 2011 Walker repeals racial profiling lawWednesday, June 22, 2011<br />Racial Profiling Law Could Have Helped Cops End Biased Policing <br /><br />Today Governor Scott Walker signed a bill to repeal a law designed to help police managers identify biased policing. The law had only just gone into effect and set up a system to collect and analyze data on the race and ethnicity of motorists when police officers initiate certain types of traffic stops or conduct searches of vehicles. <br /><br />The ACLU of Wisconsin asks, shouldn’t Wisconsin law enforcement agencies make it a priority to protect and serve all of the members of the public without bias, including motorists of color? <br /><br />Governor Walker signed the repeal of the law that took effect January 1, 2011 and gave Wisconsin law enforcement managers a new tool to identify biased policing during traffic stops. The new law set up a system to collect traffic stop data and have the Office of Justice Assistance analyze it to determine if minority motorists were being stopped or searched disproportionately compared to non-minority motorists.<br /><br />ACLU of Wisconsin's Executive Director Chris Ahmuty served on the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance advisory committee that helped design the traffic stop data collection system. This advisory committee was mostly composed of law enforcement professionals. It conducted listening sessions around the state where we heard compelling testimony from residents who felt they were victims of biased policing. The advisory committee also heard from many law enforcement professionals who had significant input into the creation of the system.<br /><br />Most professional law enforcement leaders nationwide recognize the importance of identifying bias where it exists and addressing it. The Wisconsin legislators and Governor Walker repealed this law without giving it a chance.<br /><br />While some small departments may have legitimate technical and financial issues in complying with the new law immediately, assertions regarding expense and labor costs are overblown. It is disturbing that opponents of addressing biased policing chose to repeal the law rather than attempt to make the system work. Their haste calls into question their commitment to solving the problem of racial profiling and bias among law enforcement officers in our state.<br /><br />The ACLU of Wisconsin will work with law enforcement officials, community leaders, racial justice advocates and any residents of Wisconsin to identify workable solutions to the problem of racial profiling. In response to the repeal of the traffic stop data collection law, the ACLU of Wisconsin will begin an effort to collect the stories from individuals who have experienced biased policing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-81146064686225903562012-02-05T15:40:00.001-05:002012-02-05T15:43:42.670-05:00Extreme MilwaukeeOf every nine black men Wisconsin right now, one is stewing in prison and another one is on probation or parole, according to data supplied by the state Department of Corrections and the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, of every 200 white men, one is in prison and another two are on probation or parole<br /><br /> Milwaukee Journal: According to a new report on the confinement of juvenile offenders, a black kid's chances of being locked up in an institution in Wisconsin are 18 times that of a white kid—the third-highest racial gap in the nation. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, based in Oakland, Calif., is¬sued the report, which featured an even scarier statistic: Wisconsin leads the nation in putting African-American kids in adult prisons.<br /> Why is Wisconsin so extreme? After all, it's not extreme in crime. Even Milwaukee, where most of the state's African-Americans live, features proportionately less crime than cities where black kids aren't locked up so much. A case in point is Baltimore, with a rate of violent crime 70% higher than Milwaukee's, according to FBI data. Yet Wisconsin locks up black kids at more than four times the rate Maryland does<br /> In truth, this is but the latest of many instances in which Wisconsin shows up as extreme with regard to race. On a whole slew of barometers of well-being— unemployment, mortgage-rejection, school graduation rates — the plight of African-Americans is the worst or almost the worst, or the gap between whites and blacks is the widest or almost the widest.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-19534904568273024572012-02-05T15:39:00.000-05:002012-02-05T15:40:07.114-05:00UNEQUAL JUSTICE IS AN OXYMORONUNEQUAL JUSTICE IS AN OXYMORON by Mansa Lutalo Ivapo <br /><br /> If I had a penny for every time that! heard "Lincoln freed the Black slaves," or "the civil war abolished slavery," I would be a millionaire. The fact of the matter is that slavery was never abolished and thus still exists via the same amendment that supposedly abolished it: The 13th Amendment. If you read the 13th Amendment it clearly states that slavery is abolished "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." George Orwell would call that "Double-speak."<br /> The 13th Amendment should be void of allowing slavery to exist under any circumstances because it's immoral and denies its citizens equality in their "pursuit of happiness." The very institution of slavery has always been the same in this country, both antebellum and post Civil War, except today it's more contemporary and hidden within the "criminal justice system." We must recognize that the "criminal justice system" begins with the environmental circumstances in a particular community, not when the police are called. Justice cannot exist within such a system unless the social structure is equal. Unfortunately, every social apparatus that is conducive to positive growth and development are prevalent only in the White community. Such exclusivity is a serious crime because it results in the mass imprisonment of Blacks via inferior education; inferior economical and political advantages; inferior living conditions; and hopelessness. The psyche of America has systematically developed into a belief that Black people are doomed to be imprisoned at some point in their lives as a matter of course. The answer to the source of this belief is also the root of the problem.<br /> Having said all of that, I must assert that I do believe in individual responsibility, which I define as a person being held responsible for the decisions that he/she makes. I also believe that society has a responsibility to ensure that an equal social structure exists that provides equal opportunities for positive growth. Just like society cannot deny a man an education and then blame him for being ignorant, it likewise cannot avoid responsibility for the mass reenslavement of Black people (via the prison system) after allowing an unequal social structure to exist.<br /> I am cognizant of the fact that Blacks aren't the only people who are locked up. However, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. We tend to act like we don't hear that wheel squeaking loudly. And that’s all it is: an act. We do this because to acknowledge said noise is to compel one to choose to either do something to ameliorate it, or do nothing. Unfortunately, most of us are afraid to even speak on it for fear of making others feel uncomfortable. In contrast, however, we have no problem discussing atrocities that are occurring on other countries. Personally, I never cared about making people feel uncomfortable when it came to issues like this. This situation has always been a dire one. Thus the best way to get my point across is to just put the facts on the glass. I believe that sugar coating the situation will only attract a sugar-coated reaction. It is what it is and should be addressed as such.<br /> It is with the foregoing that I was introduced to a prison program called Restorative Justice in 2008. I was presumptuous in believing that said program was an opportunity for me to further my endeavor to restoring and implementing justice to society's three categories: 1) pre-prison; (2) prison; and (3) post prison.<br /> The Restorative Justice program lasts for several weeks and is run by various non-prison and non-security prison staff. Various guests come inside the prison and speak about the criminal justice process; the impact of crimes on victims and the prisoners' kids; and some spiritual engagement. Besides the meditation session, one thing that I was never exposed to until said program was the 3-day session with Tim (whose home had been burglarized while he was in it), Tanya (who was robbed and pistol whipped at a drive-through ATM), and Pat (whose son was murdered). They shared with us how they were victimized and how they are surviving their experiences.<br /> Throughout the program, I unsuccessfully convinced everyone to consider focusing on the root causes of crime in order to come up with solutions to them. As stated above, my approach was from a factual standpoint in order to avoid indoctrinating my opinions. For example:<br />Blacks and Hispanics are minorities in America, yet the imprisonment statistics<br />show the following:<br />1 in 15 Black adults are in prison;<br />1 in 9 Black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are in prison;<br />1 in 3 Black people will suffer imprisonment at some point in their lives<br />1 in 16 Hispanics are in prison<br />Why???<br /> Considering that both state and federal investigations have acknowledged racial disparities in the criminal justice system and made recommendations on solving said disparities, why hasn't any action been taken to implement said recommendations?<br /> In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Blacks are a minority, representing 25% of its overall population. How is it then that Blacks represent the majority of its county jail population with a whopping 75 percent?<br />Why doesn't consideration as a mitigating circumstance for parole/ probation revocation include whether the violator lives in a neighborhood infested with prolific alcohol and illegal drug activity since the majority of said revocations involve alcohol and drug abuse?<br /> Since unemployment is a contributing factor that leads to imprisonment, why hasn't anything been done to eliminate the 51% rate of unemployed Black males in Milwaukee? Furthermore, why is it that in Milwaukee Blacks are 3 times more likely to be unemployed than Whites?<br /> I made sure that every time I spoke that I asked what I deem tough questions. Unfortunately, said questions didn't lead to broader discussions, but instead were curtly responded to without any dialog. I learned quickly that Restorative Justice was the wrong forum for raising these issues. I felt like I was trying to push an 18-wheeler up an icy hill. I was also unsuccessful in convincing the Restorative Justice staff to discuss how social justice can't exist unless there's equal justice in the pre-prison community, the prison community, and the post-prison community. My reasoning for this was because the ripple effect of injustice in any one of those communities will affect all of them.<br /> At the Restorative Justice graduation ceremony, which was video-taped, there were approximately 40 guests from the pre-prison community. Among them was our guest speaker (the only Black person among them) named Jerome Dillard. All of the graduates were allowed to say "a few words" upon receiving our certificate. I was called first. I read from an uncensored statement that I had completed just minutes before I was called. I said:<br /><br /> “I'm going to tell you a story and then make my comments.<br /><br />One day a holy man asked the Lord to show him what heaven and hell are like. The Lord led him to 2 rooms. In the middle of the first room was a large round table that had a large pot of stew in the middle of it. The people sitting at this table were all thin, starving, malnourished and just miserable. Strapped to their arms were spoons with very long handles that allowed them to reach and get a spoonful of the stew out of the pot. But because the spoon handles were longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The Lord told the holy man, "My son, you have seen hell."<br />They then went to the next room, which had the same setup as the first room, with the table, stew, long-handled spoons, etc. Except in this room, the people were plump, laughing and happy. The holy man said, "I don't understand." The Lord told him, "It's quite simple and requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."<br /> [Applause !!!] <br /> I'm from the inner city where prevalent crime is seen as normal; where you'll find more than one Pat, Tim and Tanya on every block.<br /> I believe that every crime that occurs in the inner city victimizes not just everyone in that community, but everyone in this country.<br /> Since 'unequal justice' is an oxymoron, I challenge America to step up to the plate and solve this social injustice by any means necessary.<br /> As part of the American community, I believe that prisoners must be allowed to participate in this problem-solving process. Despite my prisoner status, I will continue to fearlessly network with anyone who is motivated to restoring justice on 3 levels: community; prison; and those released from prison.<br /> Imprisonment is definitely not the answer due to the manifest racial injustice where Blacks represent the majority of the prison population, yet a minority of this country's overall population.<br />Instead, I believe the answer lies in restoring justice to the abandoned concept of crime prevention based on fundamental principles including love, respect, and equality, as well as community and individual accountability.<br /> Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As such, I believe that once we believe that justice can only be served by us feeding each other with the spoons of justice, can we then be nourished with the nutrients of equality.<br /> My name is Rufus West, and I approve this message.<br /> {Applause!!!]<br /> I was surprised when they applauded what I had said. Even more surprising was after we received our certificates, the guests that I had met were interested in knowing what I felt they could do to handle everything that I was trying to shed light on throughout said Restorative Justice program. Their alacrity to get involved in this righteous endeavor was refreshing! I immediately noticed that I was always in the middle of a circle of guests fielding relevant questions. I also noticed that I was closely being watched from a respectable distance by the prison staff. Virtually every guest that I spoke with encouraged me to get my message out on the street. Said encouragement added fuel to my galvanized spirit and passion for social justice.<br /> That night I decided to do a dissertation that starts on paper and ends with said videotape. I would call it "Unequal Justice Is an Oxymoron," which is a quote from my graduation speech. I planned to proliferate it among every department, school, organization, politician, community center, internet, etc. Said guests taught me that if I limit my proliferation to the Black community, then I will likely be excluding people who may be of intrinsic value to the struggle for social justice. Similarly, said limitation would also fall victim to the illusion that this is a Black problem and not an American problem. As an American problem, the responsibility falls on every citizen. When America goes to war against another country, it sends every race in order to win its wars; not just a certain race. When America taxes its citizens, it taxes every race. As such, there's no reason to employ isolationism when it comes to social justice.<br /> This dissertation will not contain said graduation videotape because (according to prison staff) said graduation was mistakenly taped without any audio, which is why my graduation speech is written above. Nevertheless, I am pertinacious in my optimism. As a vanguard of justice, I expect such an ambitious endeavor to be a struggle. We are all designed to struggle from conception to resurrection. I choose to struggle against unequal justice. Will you?<br />Completed on the 15th day of March, 2009.<br />Mansa Lutalo lyapo aka Mr. Rufus West P. 0. Box 900 (CCI), Portage, Wl 53901Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-77828178434495708592012-02-03T15:31:00.006-05:002012-02-03T15:36:19.805-05:00Milwaukee scene<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-GpAQOBYJo4F6xoGClCeuCq4YYvSOIhj_FDpEvBuTbLYo-G6Tw5JYK4Z3rMCrytB871jM1mxqv0P68XLFj4du4y0hjOoGmUoZLUFGM78zd4whit0pF2VuiTOb8V2mIafqu4fPeLyk1w/s1600/pict+racism.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-GpAQOBYJo4F6xoGClCeuCq4YYvSOIhj_FDpEvBuTbLYo-G6Tw5JYK4Z3rMCrytB871jM1mxqv0P68XLFj4du4y0hjOoGmUoZLUFGM78zd4whit0pF2VuiTOb8V2mIafqu4fPeLyk1w/s400/pict+racism.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705010823068534402" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wisconsin Police Detain Yet Another Black Man- Montel Williams - Over Nothing</span><br />by Antonio Ramirez January 10, 2011 01:58 PM (PT) Topics: Civil Rights, Health & Human Rights, Race & Human Rights, Racial Profiling <br /> Last week, law enforcement deftly halted the smuggling of criminal contraband at an international airport, detaining former talk show host Montel Williams with a wooden marijuana pipe in Milwaukee. An empty one, that is.<br />Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and has since been a public supporter of the use of medical marijuana to relieve chronic pain. He was visiting Wisconsin to participate in an experimental brain treatment program for those suffering from MS, Parkinson’s disease and other brain afflictions when a TSA employee noticed the pipe and called for backup. He was detained by Milwaukee sheriffs while the pipe was examined and eventually determined not to contain marijuana residue. Williams paid a $400 fine and was released with a February 2 court date.<br />Tell Milwaukee County Sheriffs to drop the charges against Montel Williams!<br />Williams' arrest was a silly waste of time. But Milwaukee residents should consider the fiasco as merely the most public example of a troubling, wasteful epidemic of non-violent drug arrests in the city and the state—an epidemic that falls heavily on the backs of Wisconsin’s African-American population.<br />Wisconsin’s prison population has doubled in recent years due to the dramatic rise in the incarceration of minor drug offenders. In Milwaukee, the number of people locked up for such non-violent offenses grew tenfold between 1990 and 2004, and most of them were Black or Brown.<br />The state hit a new low in 2007 when it was named a national leader in the incarceration of minority youth and the state most likely to send Black juveniles to adult prisons. That same year, The Sentencing Project reported that Wisconsin locked up more of its Black residents than any other state in the nation. Today, African-Americans—6% of the state’s population—make up 45% of the state’s prison population.<br />Racial disparities, however, aren't the only reason Wisconsin should take pause before arresting non-violent drug offenders. Alternatives to incarceration and substance abuse treatment are better, more effective ways to spend state money on the problem. In 2006, a research team found that by investing in such services, Wisconsin could reduce its non-violent prisoner population by 1,500 and save taxpayers $43 million annually.<br />Luckily, Montel Williams’ celebrity allowed him to pay his fine and quickly get on with his life. A young man or woman without Mr. Williams’ means to pay bail, however, can sit in Milwaukee County Jail for weeks on a minor drug possession charge. Many - no matter how little weed they're caught with - are also charged with "intent to sell", leaving an exaggerated and permanent black mark on their records. And for African-American residents of Milwaukee, a criminal record is no laughing matter. A study by a Princeton sociologist found that white felons in Milwaukee were more likely to get a job callback than African-Americans with no criminal record, while Black felons were called back only 5% of the time.<br />The ridiculous detention of Montel Williams should be a wake up call for Milwaukee and Wisconsin. It’s time to end wasteful arrests of African-American non-violent drug offenders and to start a dialogue around more effective alternatives to incarceration. The ridiculous charges against Montel Williams aren't the first, and they won't be the last.<br />Let’s make an example out of Williams. Tell Milwaukee County Sheriffs to drop the charges against Montel Williams!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-82995485904252266142010-08-05T00:13:00.001-04:002008-08-26T15:47:37.463-04:00An open address to the Wisconsin government<div align="left"><em>by a Wisconsin prisoner<br /></em>Right on the heels of Wisconsin's recent "Presidential" election, where droves of "Black, White, Hispanics, and Asian American citizens came out following Barack Obama's audacity of hope and call for change campaign. Many of the state's top political figures came out endorsing Obama, a "black man" seeking the bid and nomination for the democratic party candidacy.<br />Wisconsin had its general election April Fools Day Tuesday April 1st and many of them same old practices seem to surface and rear its ugly head when the State's only Black Supreme Court Justice was the victim of racist smear tactics. And all across the state blacks and other minorities lost their potential bid for whatever seat they were running for against their conser­vative opponents.<br />Change is good, and Wisconsin has a historic opportunity to atone for a great deal of its past racist practices and policies and truly commit to "change" by fixing the racist poli­cies that have held the state in the cultural, political and economic quagmires of past leaders.<br />Of the many issues plaguing the state, Criminal Justice Reform is one of the most pressing. Wisconsin over the last fifteen years has out ranked a number of states with the highest<br />rate of incarceration, which proves that incarceration and "Truth -In-Sentencing" laws do not deter crime.<br />Theoretically, punishment of Prisoners should try to achieve at least one of the following objectives:<br />Rehabilitation: re-socialization of the offender toward more socially acceptable behavior.</div><div align="left"><br />Incapacitation: removal of the offender from the community to reduce the threat of crime.<br />Retribution: repayment of damages.</div><div align="left"><br />Deterrence: discouraging the public from criminal behavior through effective punishment of offenders.</div><div align="left"><br />Wisconsin's criminal justice system and penal laws are born of attitudes and beliefs that have roots deep in the soil of slavery or Jim Crow policies and conservative political com­promises. The laws still read a lot like the 18th century Black codes, only the current codes have substituted names and titles.</div><div align="left"><br />The attitudes, mentality and prejudices of the framers of these laws are still working to the disadvantage of Black people, lower income Whites and Hispanics as well other minor­ities.<br />Although many of the men who pushed for these laws and legislation are no longer in office, like the Tommy Thompson, yet, one of the main advocates for stiffer sentencing and penal­ties are our once District Attorney, Attorney General and now Govenor, "yes," James Doyle who has allowed the root of institutionalized racism.<br />During one era not that very long ago a black man could be lynched for a violation as small as whistling at a white woman. Blacks has been throughout history incarcerated in South as sugar cane slaves, cotton slaves, and in the North slaves for the Prison Industrial Service. </div><div align="left">I've learned it only takes a little bit of fear, mixed with hate and an politician aspiring for hire office or other ambitions to have a bill before the legislation and viola: systematic re-enslavement of any offender caught in the trap. </div><div align="left">Most of Wisconsin's Legislators are White and had no objections to the heavy handed sentencing practices that Former Governor Tommy Thompson wanted and the few blacks were effectively silenced and went along with these attitudes. Just recently maybe out of desperation or maybe in the footstep of her husband and Former President, Senator Clinton is talking tough on crime, even though it was not long ago released that 1 out of every 99.1 adults in the United States are in jail or prisons. </div><div align="left">Whether we make the distinctions in raw number or per capita, the U.S. holds 2,319, 258 citizens locked up, more than any other civilized nation. The numbers don't look good or sound good because the policies and system are no good. They are bad because they are rooted in immoral principles designed to hurt instead of healing.<br />The lone black "Supreme Court Justice" lost his bid, not to the better candidate, but to racist, negative practices which vilified a man as being more concerned with defendants than victims. But doesn't justice mean searching for the truth? it was once said it is better to set free a hundred guilty than to convict one innocent.<br />However, that is no longer the call of justice, even though the 1997 Clinton administration's "Truth-In-Sentencing Act, monies has dried up and Wisconsin struggles with an 2 billion dollar budget, the attitude of our Governor and Legislative body is keep eligible men locked up and the tax payers will continue to foot the necessary $30,000 plus needed to keep them incarcerated. </div><div align="left">Why are the legislation making and passing bills designed to hinder ex-offenders progress in the workforce rather than passing and implementing bills and laws designed to help them become more productive members of society? the audacity I found in the recent Presidential election was that so many hypocritical "white" males came out to endorse Barack Obama a [Black Man] while poor black men in inner cities all around this state needs endorsement, endorsement to better their lives, to be free of the disease of drugs, alcoholism, the plagues of violence they are surrounded by, and the ever present threat and fear of imprisonment with no chance for betterment.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-19010708004762429632008-08-26T16:44:00.002-04:002008-08-26T16:47:03.207-04:00Infamous Wisconsin<strong>Doyle orders new panel on blacks in state prisons</strong><br />Cap TimesBy David Callender January 15, 2007<br /> Gov. Jim Doyle today announced today that he will create a panel to study the high rates of incarceration among blacks in Wisconsin. "Far too many of our citizens, particularly African-American males, are serving time in our prisons rather than learning in our schools or succeeding in the workplace," Doyle said in a draft of a speech he was set to deliver at today's Capitol celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Doyle aides said he would provide details of the new commission, which had been sought by black lawmakers, when he releases his budget next month. Wisconsin has the highest rate of African-American incarceration in the nation and is also among the highest in the nation for contacts between black youths and the criminal justice system, according to a report released last week. Wisconsin also had the highest rate of Latino youth sent to adult prison at 50.8 per 100,000, far ahead of the national average of 7.4.<br /> The report found that black youths were detained in Wisconsin at a rate 18.4 times that of whites, behind only South Dakota (47 times) and North Dakota (21.2 times). Doyle's announcement came during the annual Capitol celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, which is the oldest such commemoration in the nation. Doyle said the best way to celebrate King's life and legacy "is not just to remember his incredible words, but to emulate his progressive actions. "It is not enough to simply state our support for the values we hold sacred in Wisconsin, we must fight for those values -- hard, honest work; a sense of community, our concern for others, and a commitment to educating future generations," he said. Report: Nonwhite youth have disproportionate criminal justice contacts MADISON, Wis. A new report released today shows that nonwhite youth in Wisconsin are far more likely than whites to have contacts with the criminal justice system. The state data far exceeded national averages revealed in the report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Governor Jim Doyle plans to announce plans on Monday to appoint a commission to reduce incarceration rates for nonwhites. The report says Wisconsin led the nation in the rate of nonwhites under age 18 placed in residential custody and put in adult prisons. Wisconsin was the third highest for the rate of blacks held in detention as compared to whites. ___ On the Net: National Council on Crime and Delinquency: http://www.nccd-crc.org/ Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Diparity In Youth Jailings</strong><br />By Gil Halsted<br /> Monday, January 15, 2007<br />A new report finds Wisconsin leads the nation in locking up minority youth. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency says in 2004 in Wisconsin, African American and Latino youth were ten times more likely to be jailed than their white counter parts. That's twice the national ratio. The study's author, Barry Krisberg, says although white youth commit more crimes, their parents are much more likely to hire lawyers, and get their kids counseling. U-W Madison sociologist Pamela Oliver says another key driver for the racial disparity is that poor minorities get more attention from police, making them more likely to be arrested for a low level crime. Monday), Governor Jim Doyle announced the appointment of state commission charged with reducing the incarceration rates for minorities both adults and juvenilesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-72381723832819774542008-08-05T01:13:00.000-04:002008-08-05T01:16:29.621-04:002008 Racial Disparity committee recommendations<strong>Racial Disparity Report; released February 2008<br /></strong> Recommendations <br /> In making recommendations to address racial disparity in the criminal justice system, the Commission recognizes that there are serious offenses and behaviors that, for reasons of public safety, require that some offenders be removed from the community. The Commission also recognizes that most of the people who are incarcerated will one day be returned to the community. Addressing the issues that led to their incarceration and resulted from that incarceration is an essential step in ensuring the well-being of the entire community. In its 2007 report America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline, the Children’s Defense Fund identified a number of the institutions that determine the opportunities children have to lead successful lives and noted that:<br /> Racial disparity runs through every major system impacting children’s life chances: limited access to<br />health care; lack of Head Start and quality preschool experiences; children waiting in foster care for permanent families; and failing schools with harsh discipline policies that suspend, expel and discourage children who drop out and don’t graduate and push more children into juvenile detention and adult prisons.<br /> The Commission has recognized that many of the issues that were addressed in the Pipeline report exist in Wisconsin and, as a result of their impact on youth, contribute to racial disparity in the criminal justice system. The Commission has formulated recommendations focused on youth that generally fall into the categories of data collection and analysis; mental health; education issues and system issues.<br /> These recommendations, if implemented, will have broad effect; can be acted upon quickly; and will serve the dual purpose of reducing disparity in Wisconsin’s justice system and enhancing public safety. Focusing attention on children and families using evidence based services can have a deep impact on the racial disparity as evidenced by two programs in Rock and Milwaukee Counties that were developed with funding provided by the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission1.<br /> In addition, the Commission recognizes that focusing attention on children and families is an investment that should bear fruit for a long period of time. Research shows that prevention and early<br />intervention programs for youth and their families are the most cost effective means in the long run<br />to impact troubled children and their families. Discussions on racial disparity are best focused at<br />the local level. Currently, there is a lack of data and/or lack of tracking data by race at all stages of<br />the justice system, from initial law enforcement contact through probation, incarceration, and parole.<br />Local jurisdictions need to have data so they have an understanding of what is happening in their communities and can begin the discussion locally.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ Throughout the state, we must increase and improve the validity and reliability of data, e.g. collecting and making data available.<br />♦ Local jurisdictions must develop a tracking system to identify race and age at all stages of contact with the justice system.<br />♦ Information technology resources must be developed to pull together data from different databases to the extent possible. Consistent and reliable data must be developed across the systems and across<br />jurisdictions.<br /> ♦ The barriers that prevent juvenile justice system and child welfare system workers<br />from sharing information about youth in either system should be broken down.<br /> Many youth have mental health issues that directly lead to contact with the juvenile justice system. Too often children do not receive adequate screening for mental health needs nor do they receive mental health services<br />until they reach the juvenile justice system. Using the juvenile justice system as the means to sort out which youth and families will receive services can have a long term deleterious effect on children as they accumulate delinquency labels that will follow them into adulthood. In addition, too often the type of service available to children and families is neither evidence-based nor cost effective.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ Significantly more evidence-based resources should be devoted to addressing mental health issues of all youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Some local jurisdictions and service providers have implemented Best Practice models that have proved effective in addressing mental health issues.<br />♦ The State must increase its commitment to Wraparound and other coordinated service team models so that the mental health needs of all youth - and not just those in the juvenile justice system - can be addressed within the community.<br />Truancy, “zero tolerance” policies, and school discipline responses often lead to a juvenile having unnecessary contact with the juvenile justice system and have been shown to disproportionately affect children of color. Providing support to<br />1Rock County made a data-driven study of the points of contact of minority youth with the juvenile justice system and identified the placement in secure custody as the appropriate point to develop an Alternatives to Detention program. This program has been added to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Programs site.<br /><br />school districts to develop alternate means of ensuring safety within the schools, engaging all youth in becoming part of a learning community, and developing creative alternatives to promote positive and responsible behavior will reduce the disproportionate impact of restrictive discipline codes and policies.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ Education on cultural competency (not just cultural diversity) and support should be offered to law enforcement, school resource officers, human services personnel, mental health services providers, educators and the judiciary. This could include developing a mentoring program in which more experienced staff in this area mentor new personnel.<br /> ♦ School districts should be encouraged to examine their local data on the effects of “zero tolerance” and other discipline policies on youth of color. Schools should be encouraged to use school resource officers for prevention as well as intervention with students. Parents should be included in this examination so they will have a voice in this process and thereby better effectuate change.<br /> Progress in identifying solutions to problems relating to racial disparity is difficult and requires a consistent effort by many to resolve the conditions which create the disparity. A uniform method must exist whereby the results of these efforts can be evaluated and adherence to them enforced.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ A statewide process or entity should be created to monitor and track progress in resolving issues relating to racial disparity. ♦ Training and resources should be provided to local organizations on<br />racial disparity issues.<br />Efforts that are designed to facilitate the return of inmates to their communities should include the recognition that juveniles released from state facilities are in need of many of the same re-entry aids as adults.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ Public and private sector leaders should collaborate in community efforts that emphasize education,<br />employment, and community mentoring. ♦ Programs such as the Milwaukee Boys and Girls Club collaboration with the Ethan Allen School should be supported and expanded.<br /> The deliberations of the Commission included review of each of the contact points a citizen would have with officials in the criminal justice system. Through the review of reports of previous commissions that have examined aspects of the justice system, the public hearings and Commission meetings, the submissions by citizens and each of the meetings the Commission conducted, the Commission has identified areas of the criminal justice system in which system changes or individual actions can help to reduce the racial disparity the Commission found to exist in the criminal justice system.<br /> The initial point of contact identified involves law enforcement officers and the efforts of law enforcement agencies to ensure public safety and adherence to the law. It is the law enforcement officer who, in investigating the facts that have attracted law enforcement attention, initially determines if an actionable violation has occurred and whose exercise of discretion begins the track of the defendant either outside or through the criminal justice system.<br /> The Commission recommendations relating to law enforcement include recommendations regarding prevention strategies that would reduce the number of the entire community, including minority-group members, entering the criminal justice system. The recommendations particularly note drug offenses and the impact drug laws and enforcement practices have had on racial disparity. The Commission further noted that Governor Tommy Thompson, in November, 1999, created the Governor’s Task Force on Racial Profiling and charged that task force with the responsibility of studying and making recommendations on the use of profiling when making traffic stops throughout the state.<br /> The Commission noted that many of the recommendations made by that task force addressed needs for data and data analysis that are similar to those this Commission has identified. Recognizing that law enforcement agencies have to be concerned with the fiscal impact of and personnel commitment required in data collection, the Commission has sought to utilize existing data sources and tools to document whether disparities exist and whether efforts to address inappropriate disparities are successful.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ An Executive Order should be issued accepting and enforcing the findings and recommendations of the Racial Profiling Task Force Report of 2000.<br />♦ Appropriate state agencies should be directed to conduct a county-bycounty baseline study of racial disparity using existing traffic citation and arrest data to determine disparity levels in the state.<br /> The Commission specifically notes the availability of information that would allow the Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles to conduct a study of traffic citation data by race and to compare that data to recent demographic information to determine if disparity exists in arrests . Wisconsin’s counties vary greatly in their ethnic/ racial composition and their disparity patterns. Decisions about where to focus disparity-reduction efforts need to be based on data identifying where disparities exist and involving significant numbers of people. Readily available citation, arrest, and corrections data can be used to calculate gross statistics to show in which counties and for which groups there is<br />evidence of significant patterns of racial disparity. The data can provide a basis for flagging situations that require further investigation and for evidence-based decisions about allocating resources for disparity reduction efforts.<br /> The Commission examined the impact of drug offense arrests and prosecutions on racial disparity rates throughout the state. It heard anecdotal references to a tradition of suburban or rural residents receiving citations for marijuana possession under circumstances that would have resulted in minority residents of an urban setting being arrested and entering the criminal justice system.<br /> The Commission reviewed national studies (including the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Department of Health and Human Services) that indicate young Caucasians self-report use of illegal drugs more frequently than their African-American counterparts, yet African-Americans are imprisoned multiple times more than Caucasians for nonviolent drug offenses.<br /> The Commission noted that drug convictions have impact on more than just the liberty of the defendant. It heard testimony from citizens who argued that there were differences in the response to chemical abuse problems. Cited were instances in which some violators are referred to treatment facilities and have their legal difficulties resolved in light of the intervening substance abuse treatment while others are immediately referred to criminal court processes.<br /> Concerns were also raised regarding perceptions that sentencing differences for crack cocaine,a drug perceived as being more frequently used by African-Americans, and for powder cocaine, which is self-reported more frequently as the drug of choice of 3Caucasians were not based on any substantive difference. There were concerns also expressed that users of ethamphetamine - who are typically Caucasian - were treated as needing treatment where users of crack cocaine were treated as needing imprisonment.<br /> Bases for these reports included the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Summary of Findings from the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999.<br /> The Commission concluded that reducing demand for illegal drugs and providing access to treatment is a more effective strategy than using “zero tolerance” policies that often serve to remove low-level drug offenders<br />from the community without providing the needed treatment. Such actions were seen to exacerbate addiction problems without necessarily addressing the underlying treatment need. The “offender” is often returned to the<br />community with the same addiction, and the difficulties associated with a criminal record.<br /> In addition, the incarceration itself may have exacerbated problems surrounding the family structure, educational pursuits, and employment efforts. The Commission believes state and local leaders should engage in an intensive multisystem effort to reduce substance abuse and the demand for illegal drugs using evidence based services. The concerns expressed by judges and others throughout the justice system reflect the lack of sufficient treatment alternatives for those convicted of substance abuse-related offenses highlight the need to identify and develop treatment resources.<br /> Whether it is the state’s high rank in the nation in binge-drinking and alcohol consumption, often reflected in multiple drunk-driving arrests and the danger to the community those acts involve, or the state’s national rank in the top half for cocaine use for all ages, the failure of Wisconsin’s continued reliance on law enforcement and corrections instead of investing in treatment alternatives has had significant negative effect.2<br /> In a number of instances, the Commission’s attention was called to a comparison of incarceration practices in Wisconsin with those in Minnesota. Minnesota was seen as emphasizing community supervision and treatment programs more frequently than Wisconsin, particularly for non-violent, drug and alcoholaddicted offenders. The comparison of rates of incarceration in the two state indicate Wisconsin is approaching three times the number of its citizens in prisons and jails per 100,000 residents compared to Minnesota.3<br />Recommendations<br />♦ Increased state and federal funds should be committed to substance abuse treatment and effective evidence- based programming to reduce drug use.<br />♦ Active efforts should be made to change prohibitions against financial aid for education and housing<br />for convicted drug offenders.<br />♦ Using the example of High Point, NC and examining statistics and examples showing the impact of community sweeps, local law enforcement should engage in comprehensive responses to open air drug markets as opposed to zero-tolerance policies.<br /> In making its recommendations for law enforcement leaders to follow in identifying, hiring, and keeping the best candidates for longterm law enforcement careers, the International Association of Chiefs of Police noted that<br />desirable officers were those who “possess not only the aptitudes and attributes to engage in traditional, action-oriented policing, but also those who will perform in increasingly multifaceted policing environments. Law enforcement leaders must establish and then sustain a cadre of officers who are dedicated to ethical service-oriented policing that is respectful of the civil rights of all community members while maintaining safety and public order.”4<br /> A concern of the Commission was the notion that law enforcement officers are often thought to provide “help” for mentally ill subjects or those with substance abuse problems by making an arrest and starting them in “the<br />system.” It is extremely important that the effect of using arrests and the criminal or juvenile justice systems to obtain “help” be explored.<br /> The Commission developed recommendations to assist law enforcement leadership in equipping its officers with the skills and training that will help the officers working with changing populations throughout Wisconsin. The state is experiencing demographic changes throughout, and cultural as well as ethnic varieties are being introduced into Wisconsin communities.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ State leadership should collaborate with appropriate justice system and administrative officials to develop training and standards consistent with the recommendations of the Racial Profiling Task Force.<br />♦ The appropriate state agency should collect, promote and disseminate best law enforcement practices on traffic stop, treatment of mental health cases and use of force procedures to reduce the perception of unfairness and partiality of law enforcement towards minorities.<br />♦ A state-organized major conference shall be convened for law enforcement executives to highlight and discuss the issue of racial disparity in Wisconsin that includes elevation of risks associated with introduction into the criminal justice system.<br /> The success of efforts to address racial disparity and ensure community safety will be directly affected by the allocation of sufficient resources to support the agencies called upon to collect and analyze data; provide treatment alternatives; and provide appropriate law enforcement efforts. These efforts must be mindful of the role of community members as the greatest and most powerful resource that local law enforcement has to reduce crime.<br /> Involvement of community members and agencies in justice councils will assist in the identification of “hot spots” in the community as well as create avenues of communication between neighborhood representatives and law enforcement.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ County baseline study data should be used to determine the allocation of federal Justice funds over which the Governor has control towards community efforts addressing racial disparity within their criminal and juvenile justice systems. Programs should include, but not be limited to: youth diversion, drug court programs, community accountability boards, gang prevention efforts and community justice councils.<br />♦ Local law enforcement agencies should engage in community justice councils to develop community based solutions to low-level offenses.<br />♦ Federal and state funds should be committed for reentry planning and programming focusing on housing, employment and education, specifically for young African-American men returning to the community<br />from prisons.<br />“The trial judge is the one actor in the system most experienced with exercising discretion in a transparent, open and reasoned way. When it costs so much more to incarcerate than to educate a child, we should take special care to ensure that we are not incarcerating too many persons for too long.” U. S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy; American Bar Association; San Francisco, CA 8/9/03<br /> In arriving at appropriate sentencing decisions, the court benefits from a balanced approach in which the court is provided not only the traditionally supplied information about the crime, the impact on any victims, and the background of the defendant, but also receives additional information that would allow it to fashion the most appropriate sentence. Currently, courts are left at the time of sentencing not knowing when treatment might be available, or what support for reentry from prison might look like two or three years later.<br /> Courts consider numerous factors in deciding an appropriate sentence. Judges must rely on the information provided to them about the charges and the defendant. Public Defenders need resources to appropriately prepare cases and present necessary information, including sentencing alternatives, to the decision maker.<br /> The Commission was informed that standards for eligibility for Public Defender services have remained the same for twenty years. In addition, the rate of compensation for attorneys accepting appointment for Public Defender cases has remained low. As a result, resources available to private attorneys to accept the appointments to represent indigent defendants discourage most except the newest, least experienced attorneys from accepting appointments.<br /><br />2Treatment Instead of Prisons: A Roadmap for Sentencing and Correctional Policy Reform in Wisconsin, Drug Policy Alliance, January 2006.<br />3Bureau of Justice Statistics-Midyear 2005. Cited in Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration By Race and Ethnicity, Marc Mauer and Ryan S. King, The Sentencing Project, July 2007.<br />4 Protecting Civil Rights: A leadership Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement, International Association of Chiefs of Police, September2006.<br /><br />Recommendations<br />♦ Judges should recommend and encourage the use of new adjudicative methods, including community based sentencing alternatives.<br />♦ Pre-sentence reports provided for sentencing should inform the judge and the parties about the full range of sentencing alternatives available at the time of the sentencing, identifying both community-based and institutional resources, and providing a realistic plan for offender rehabilitation<br />that addresses the actual availability of services in both the institutional and community settings.<br />♦ An online statewide database should be developed to collect and disseminate information on alternative justice programs. ♦ Eligibility standards for qualification for Public Defender services should be revised. Resources available to the defense for investigation and social work should reflect the need to make adequate sentencing information available to the court.<br /> The Commission believes there should be a comprehensive assessment of Wisconsin justice system programming to determine best practices and build state level support for alternative programs. Judges are in a position to work with other criminal justice officials in designing and implementing useful and effective alternatives to incarceration, such as those implicated in the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion Program (TAD), deferred prosecution agreements and drug treatment courts.<br /> Having alternative program information available online would allow judges and others in the criminal justice system to quickly identify programs that are suitable, available and proven to work. Posted information would<br />include program format, availability, procedures, participants, and overall effectiveness. Internal to the judiciary, judges should work with appropriate staff and/or community resources to find creative ways to unify adjudications of cases to better serve court users. Judges are in a unique position and should provide leadership in unification initiatives across division lines making courts more accessible and less duplicative in improving the processing of a single family’s case.<br />Recommendation<br />♦ Judges should take a leadership role in the development of a community criminal justice council for each of<br />the ten judicial districts.<br /> Judges should provide leadership. The mission of the Council should be to efficiently and collaboratively coordinate services and to effectively allocate financial resources to ensure crime reduction, victim support, offender accountability and restorative community based programs. Through strategic planning and research, the Council should identify, evaluate and develop strategies to improve the justice system to enhance public safety and the quality of life.<br /> The Council should consist of an Executive Committee composed of various stakeholders, including, as it relates to the jurisdiction, the Mayor(s), County Executive(s), Sheriff(s),Chief Judge, Chair of the County Board, District Attorney(s), Police Chief(s), area head of the Public Defender’s Office, the Department of Corrections, and a representative of community service providers.<br /> 5) The Council should be comprised of voting members from a variety of city, county, state justice agencies along with business, advocacy and other community groups. The Council should have standing subcommittees in community justice areas such as mental health, incarceration alternative programs, juvenile justice, public<br />education and information gathering.<br /> The Council will collect and review local racial disparity data within each county where applicable and develop targeted and collaborative efforts with other criminal justice system and community stakeholders to reduce racial disparity in their communities. In addition, they will develop programs to address the disparity and monitor progress over time. In order to qualify for full funding of this grant program, the District Attorney must be an active participant.<br /> The Office of Justice Assistance should develop a grant program or provide seed money using Justice Assistance Grant money to implement the Community Justice Councils modeled after the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) committees funded by the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission.<br />“Racial stereotypes sometimes operate unconsciously and can influence perceptions of dangerousness<br />even on the part of decision-makers who harbor no conscious prejudices…Minority offenders’ personal circumstances may make them appear to some judges as unlikely prospects for rehabilitation.Those who can pay for private drug or mental health treatment, provide restitution in large amounts to victims and communities, or attend educational and vocational programs often unavailable to the poor are likely to receive milder punishments than others who have committed exactly the same crimes.”5<br />Recommendation<br />♦ Judges should report the appearance of any pattern and practice of disparate treatment by any actor involved in policing, charging decisions, sentencing recommendations, or any court proceeding, to the appropriate chief executive officer and/or agency head.<br />5Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population, November 2007, The JFA Institute, Washington, DC 2002. <br /><br /> Judges should send a clear message that our justice system will not tolerate discrimination in any form. Inappropriate conduct from staff, litigants, counsels or others including but not limited to off-color jokes, comments or other discriminatory behavior should be swiftly and forcefully rebuked and may be subject to appropriate sanctions. Throughout its deliberations, the Commission has heard testimony and has noted the need for data and information on which to base recommendations for changes that will reduce disparity in the justice system. Whether it is as a result of the exercise of discretion by law enforcement officers, prosecutors, or judges, the need for accurate information on which to base systemic policies and changes has been a source of frequent testimony.<br />Recommendations<br />♦ A statewide schema should be developed and utilized to collect data on race and ethnicity at all points in the criminal justice system process in the CCAP and PROTECT systems.<br />♦ Advanced technologies should be utilized to electronically codify contents of court transcripts.<br />♦ The judiciary should take the lead in ensuring that adequate and qualified interpreters are made available at every stage of the justice system process.<br /> The need for the collection of data is particu­larly important regarding white and non-white Hispanics. Better data for Asian, Hmong, Native-American, and other ethnic groups with significant populations in Wisconsin should be obtained. Though numbers for these groups have historically remained low, a catch-all "other" category is of little use with­out more specific information about these groups.<br /> Transcripts contain detailed information not collected nor documented anywhere else in the justice system. This information, if codified and entered into a database, could be used to ascertain the true breadth of factors consid­ered by judges in their decision-making proc­ess. There are existing data bases in jurisdic­tions such as LaCrosse, Portage and Dane Counties.<br /> Changing demographics and the increasingly diverse population appearing in the juvenile and criminal justice systems make the avail­ability of qualified interpreters at all stages of the justice system process a critical issue. The court must be able to communicate effec­tively using court interpreters to explain all options and alternatives available in a particu­lar case. Where decisions involving diversion from the formal court process are made prior to court contact - such as the intake decision in the juvenile justice system to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement - interpret­ers must be available to ensure all who are subject of the process have equal access to dispositional or diversion options.<br />Recommendations<br />· The judiciary should continue to provide access and encourage the public to view how the court system works, and should educate the public and legislature about the role of courts and effective justice strategies, particularly as it relates to the lack of alternatives to prison for offenders suffering from mental health and drug treatment issues.<br />· The judiciary should conduct broad research nationally and draw from the best programs and develop a statewide judicial education program addressing racial disparity in the criminal justice system and how to combat it.<br />· Judges should educate the other branches of government on the fiscal impact of unfunded mandates on the judiciary’s capacity to meet it’s constitutional obligations.<br /> Judges have the opportunity to educate the community about the workings of the justice system by encouraging members of the pub­lic to observe judicial proceedings. Judges also have the ability to participate in educa­tional programs at schools and community forums.<br /> The provision of education to judges on the issues surrounding racial disparity should be an essential part of judicial education. It should be made a core component of judicial training at a plenary session of the Judicial College and incorporated into specialized training efforts such as the courses routinely offered to new judges and specialized ses­sions on criminal law and sentencing.<br /> It is further important that the courts be fully funded and that the executive and legislative branches provide adequate resources to the courts and community stakeholders for alter­natives to incarceration as a critical compo­nent of efforts to reduce prison and jail popu­lations.<br />"The legislative branch has the obligation to de­termine whether a policy is wise. It is a grave mistake to retain a policy just because a court finds it constitutional... Few misconceptions about government are more mischievous than<br /> Throughout the public hearing process, the Commission heard testimony reflecting a common theme relating to inmate reentry and reintegration into the community. Many witnesses testified that a critical element in successful reentry is access to employment that pays wages on which the inmate can adequately provide for family members. Fre­quently cited as obstacles in obtaining these jobs were the access to transportation to jobs that were located in areas to which public transportation was not available.<br />6Kennedy, Speech at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, August 9, 2003<br />the idea that a policy is sound simply because a court finds it permissible. A court decision does not excuse the political branches or the public from the responsibility for unjust laws."6<br /><br /><br /> One program that has been successful but has only been limited on a limited basis is a part­nership between the Department of Correc­tions and the Department of Transportation to ensure that eligible inmates have a valid state-issued driver's license when they are paroled. Inmates who are not eligible for a driver's license should have a valid state iden­tification card.<br /> The City of Milwaukee Municipal Court, through the work of Justice 2000's Center for Driver's License Recovery and Employability Program has completed work on a "comprehensive collaborative effort to reduce the numbers of unlicensed drivers in Milwau­kee County" through the establishment and operation of a community-wide driver's li­cense recovery and employability resource center in Milwaukee.<br /> Treatment Instead of Prisons (TIP) was in­cluded in the 2003 State Budget as a program that would be funded by grants to counties. The original grant was funded at $750,000, an amount that would allow limited opportunity to begin pilot projects that would further prove the efficacy of this program.<br /> Full implementation of this program would reduce incarceration by treating substance abuse. The projected results would lower in­carceration rates; lower recidivism rates by treating the underlying problem without jail; and supplement the already overburdened Department of Corrections substance abuse treatment programs.<br />Recommendations<br />· consistent with the results of the January Audit report, 2008, legislation should be introduced to a return jurisdiction of 17 year olds alleged to have violated state or federal criminal laws to juvenile courts. Current waiver provisions should be maintained.<br />· The State department of transportation and Department of Corrections program should be expanded to serve inmates at all department of Corrections facilities and aid inmate reintegration by ensuring that inmates who request them have a valid identification card before they are released.<br /> Additional funds should be made available to allow for a pilot project that will provide treat­ment services instead of prison.<br />"Between the time a suspect is arrested and the time he or she is arraigned, a number of impor­tant activities take place where decisions are made that can have a dramatic effect on the racial composition of the criminal justice popu­lation. This critical stage in the processing of a criminal case is rendered more complicated be­cause multiple players are involved, including: the police, the complainant, witnesses, the prosecutor, the suspect, the suspect's family and friends, the pretrial officer, the defense, diversion and alternative sanctions programs, and the court."7<br /> In the report of the Sentencing Commission, Race and Sentencing, the authors were able to determine by the objective data that, by in large, the sentencing schemes in Wisconsin are fairly meted out, particularly for egregious offenses. It also pinpointed, however, some areas of concern around drug sentences and sentences for less serious offenses. Given data suggesting that the greatest racial disparity exists at the lower end of the severity scale in drug cases, one area that appears to deserve especially careful review involves the range of charges issued for possession of small amounts of marijuana, since responses can vary from a mere civil ordinance violation all the way up to felonies, if the possession is for a second or subsequent offense.<br />The first step in addressing these issues is to collect data so that we know where we are and whether or not there are problems in the juvenile and criminal justice systems that can be addressed.<br />Recommendation<br /> The office of Justice Assistance should create a work group consisting of a representative of the Wisconsin District Attorney’s Association, the Wisconsin state prosecutor’s Office, the Department of Justice, State Prosecutor Education and Training(SPET) Division, and three District Attorneys, one of whom shall be from either Milwaukee, Dane, Rock , Racine or Kenosha County.6<br /> The work group would initially determine which data from PROTECT and other data bases must be collected on an ongoing basis so that data, and in particular racial data, can be reported periodically to prosecutors regarding critical stages in the continuum such as charging and settlement offers, The group would work to determine which new data should be included in the PROTECT system in order to increase the prosecutor's ability to understand what their respective numbers mean.9 The work group would also work with law enforcement, the courts and the Criminal Investigation Bureau to resolve data defini­tions of race in all systems.<br /> The work group should develop a series of management reports from the PROTECT sys­tem that will report the racial data, along with other information that the work group may prescribe, to enhance the management func­tion of individual District Attorney Offices.<br /> The Office of Justice Assistance is strongly urged to consider consulting with the Vera Institute's Initiative on Prosecution and Racial Disparity to help with the question of data.<br /> District Attorneys tend to agree that, along with the seriousness of the offense, the most important information they<br />7)'Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers, The Sentencing Project, October 2000<br /><br /><br />use in exercising discretion is the criminal history of an of­fender. Criminal history and the gravity of the offense drive<br />each discretionary decision the prosecutor makes. While the Sentencing Com­mission's report, Race and Sentencing, was a useful analysis of the role of race in sentenc­ing, the role of criminal history in the context of sentencing was not fully addressed.<br />Recommendation<br />· The office of Justice Assistance should commission a study similar to Race and Sentencing but in the context of prosecutorial discretion, giving particular attention to the role of criminal history in that exercise.<br />Awareness is the driver of change. The first step in addressing perceptions that racial dis­parities reflect discrimination is understand­ing the disparities. The second step is deter­mining which of those disparities are not concretely tied to relevant factors for the prosecu­tion of crimes and addressing community safety. District Attorneys need to be aware of the numbers as regards racial disparity in the state and in each county. They also need to be aware that while they may be exercising dis­cretion in a race neutral manner, they can take the opportunity to examine those decisions particularly in light of the cultural differences represented by people of color in Wisconsin and the longstanding dangers of unconscious bias.<br />Recommendation<br />· The Office of Justice Assistance, the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Department of Justice’s SPET office should collaborate to develop and offer training on conscious or unconscious racism and the danger of institutional bias in the juvenile and criminal justice systems at all SPET conferences. <br /> The Commission recommends that all prose­cutors attend at least one session of this train­ing before the end of the second year of em­ployment and that there also be developed and offered training on cultural differences to particular counties. An example would be the development of a training program on Hmong culture to be offered in Dane, Mara­thon, Eau Claire and other counties having a significant Hmong population.<br /> One of the most effective ways to address the issue of racial disparity in a community is to bring the stakeholders together to address the problem. On the juvenile side, the Gover­nor's Juvenile Justice Commission has been working with six pilot counties for almost six years to help them collect and analyze their data, and to develop and monitor programs and strategies to address identified problems in their respective systems.<br /> Rock County used a number of different strategies, including creative prevention work and detention reform (that included risk as­sessments and electronic monitoring) to de­velop a program that recently led to Rock County being recognized by the MacArthur Foundation as one of its Models for Change sites. The MacArthur Foundation awarded Rock County a grant of $300,000 over three years to continue the work it is doing.<br /> The District Attorneys around the state do not have the resources to address the manage­ment issues that may become clear upon data collection. Having a resource to which they could turn for help in implementing new strategies to deal with racial disparity along with other management issues would help offices to increase efficiencies and use best practices.<br />Recommendation<br />· The Office of Justice Assistance shall broker or develop a technical assistance arm to help the justice Councils and District Attorney Offices implement new strategies such as pilot programs to revise charging or plea policies; community Accountability Boards; alternatives to drug prosecution; and/ or Drug treatment Courts as alternatives to traditional case processing.<br />This effort should include, as part of any diver­sion or deferral programs, evaluation of whether any group (defined by race, gender or other protected class) is being disfavored in referrals or offers made. One unintended con­sequence of a treatment court, for example, can be an inadvertent tendency toward diver­sion and treatment for more privileged defen­<br />dants, and jail for the less privileged. Policies and practices should be reviewed to try to avoid this tendency, for example,<br />by seeking "sliding scale" treatment payment plans, cre­ating easy-to-use program brochures, and ensuring referrals are based on an objective, validated assessment process.<br /> The Office of Justice Assistance's supervision of the work groups should include either em­ploying a full-time staff person with analytical abilities or contract with an outside consult­ant through either DA/IT or the Office of Jus­tice Assistance to create the management re­ports and to act as a management consultant to District Attorney Offices around the state to improve their efficiencies.<br /> The Racial Disparity Commission has focused primarily on making recommendations to the Governor that he can implement or influence in addressing racial disparity, District Attor­neys around the state can become partners in this effort by adopting model guidelines to address these issues.<br />Recommendation<br />· A resolution should be offered to the Wisconsin District Attorney’s association using the following guidelines: 10<br /> Guidelines for District Attorneys on Racial Disparity in the Wisconsin Juvenile Justice<br />and Criminal Justice System<br />I. Prosecutorial Decision Making<br />a. The District Attorney should be conscious of potential racially disparate impact when setting prosecution priorities and policies.<br />b. The District Attorney should consider sta­tistical evidence of community crime in­dicators and qualitative evidence of com­munity concerns in setting prosecution priorities and initiatives.<br />c. The District Attorney should be proactive in his/her leadership and partnership with law enforcement agencies to pre­vent racial and ethnic bias and ensure that similarly situated defendants receive<br />similar charges and sentences, d. The District Attorney should consider the racial effects of his/her charging and dis­position policies and work with others in the community to address unfair dispa­rate impacts.<br />.Training<br />a. Training of prosecutors about the role of racism in our history and criminal justice system should be offered to all prosecu­tors.<br />b. The District Attorney should encourage all supervisors, attorneys, and other staff to attend the training related to race and suspicion and assessment of risks to be developed by SPET. (See Recommenda­tion #3 Supra.)<br />c. The District Attorney should advocate for racial disparity/profiling training for law enforcement agencies.<br />I. Management and Accountability<br />a. The District Attorney should support of­fice policies that ensure diversity among his/her professional and support staff, including the active recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of African-Americans, Native Americans, Hmong, Hispanics and other racial and ethnic mi­norities.<br />b. Every prosecutor should review his/her own personal beliefs and biases, includ­ing use of racial and ethnic stereotypes or use of proxies for race and ethnicity (such as class/socio-economic status or geography).<br />c. The District Attorney should charge all assistants and deputies district attorneys with the obligation to consciously review their rationales for prosecution in order to eliminate unfair racially disparate treatment and effects.<br />d. The District Attorney should take affirma­tive steps to eliminate racial/ethnic bias<br />victim or stereotyping that may be within his/ her control and supervision,<br />e. As an internal management tool, the Dis­trict Attorney should collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data on the race and ethnicity of the defendant and victim at each stage of prosecution, in­cluding but not limited to: case intake, bail requests, declinations, selection of charges, diversion from prosecution or incarceration, plea offers, sentencing rec­ommendations, fast-track sentencing and the use of alternative sanctions.<br />IV. Community<br />a. The District Attorney should meet with community members, including mem­bers of the bar and criminal justice pro­fessionals, to obtain their input on crime problems and effective solutions.<br />b. The District Attorney should seek out from lay community members their con­cerns about real or perceived disparate treatment in prosecutorial policies and disparities in their final results.<br />c. The District Attorney should collaborate with members of the community and the local criminal and juvenile justice sys­tems to develop problem solving solu­tions to disparate impacts of prosecuto­rial decision making.<br />V. Influencing Legislation and Policy<br />a. Each District Attorney has the affirmative obligation to raise the racially disparate effects of legislation and policy with local and state legislative bodies.<br />b. The District Attorney should advocate sentencing alternatives and reforms that lessen the impact on those adversely af­fected by racial disparities in the Wiscon­sin criminal justice system.<br />"The cost of housing, feeding, and caring for the inmate population in the United States is over 40 billion dollars per year. ..And despite the high expenditures in prison, there remain urgent, un­met needs in the prison system."''<br />8 The work group could be something akin to the role the CCAP Oversight Committee plays for the courts.<br />9 The Commission recognizes that some of the data may not currently be electronically accessible. The work group could, however, address the data needs so that when the time comes that DA's are fully automated, the gathering of racial data for other decision points such as plea offers and sentencing requests can be tracked.<br />10 guidelines are borrowed from "Prosecutorial Decision-Making and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Federal Criminal Justice System: Principles and Guidelines", A Project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the National Institute for Law and Equity, Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol, 19, No. 3, February 2007.<br />11 Kennedy<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Recommendations<br />· When an inmate is received for custodial placement, available information including the presentence report and other social history including personal interviews with the inmate, shall be used to determine whether any children had been living with the inmate prior to incarceration. Contact should be initiated with and maintained with the appropriate County social services department.<br />· The Department of Corrections (DOC) should conduct a complete review of the availability of programs that are required for release from custodial placement.<br />· The legislature and DOC should determine the level of finding needed for the necessary programs and every effort should be made to provide such funding.<br />· The DOC should develop a process to review the decisions of the program Review Committees as they determine the program needs of inmates and whether a particular inmate will be admitted to a particular program.<br />· DOC should assess at what point programming is offered to achieve maximum effectiveness and take steps necessary to ensure that essential programming such as ADOA treatment is made available to inmates in need at the earliest possible date.<br />· DOC should conduct a complete review of the options available to improve and increase the vocational, educational, mental health an rehabilitation programs that can be offered to inmates during their period of incarceration to prepare them for life after reentry.<br />· DOC should establish a system of incentives for inmates who voluntarily enroll in and complete programs that aid in their rehabilitation.<br />· DOC should review and expand the use of options such as electronic monitoring, community group homes and others that do not include incarceration when such use is consistent with public safety concerns<br /> IN reports of the Council of Crime and Justice and the California Research Bureau, children of incarcerated parents were noted to often suffer from negative self-image; exhibit symp­toms of emotional distress such as fear, anxi­ety, anger, sadness, and resentment; with­draw from family and friends; and show signs of mental illness such as depression, eating and sleeping disorders, anxiety and hyper-arousal; and attention disorders. They often suffer from diminished academic perform­ance. Classroom behavioral difficulties and truancy are frequently noted. They are more likely to exhibit physical aggression and dis­ruptive behaviors in all the environments in which they interact.12<br /> Causes of these reactions were identified as including the impact of the lack of financial support; social alienation; and the stigma at­tached to having an incarcerated parent. Chil­dren were noted to be keenly attuned to the status of their parents, and were often ex­tremely troubled by concerns for the welfare of the incarcerated parent.<br />Once an inmate has been received by DOC and noted to have been the person with whom the child resided at the time of the in­carceration, the appropriate DOC worker should identify the appropriate county social services department to which notice of the parent's status should be provided. In addi­tion to remaining aware of county social ser­vices responses to the needs of the child, the DOC should be mindful of recommendations for visitation between the parent and child; note referrals for mentoring or other counsel­ing services; and remain available to social services for recommendations regarding the appropriateness of the parent for visitation/ placement upon release.<br /> DOC should develop a system for managing the admission to programs in a manner that would expedite the process of making the maximum number of inmates eligible for re­entry at the earliest possible date that is con­sistent with the safety of the public.<br /> This would likely have a positive impact on disparity and the level of minority incarcera­tion and would provide inmates with an in­centive to continue improving themselves. DOC should review the programs that it re­quires for release for reasonableness and to determine if there are alternatives such as in­dependent study or completion of program­ming under community-supervision that can be used when space in programs is not avail­able.<br /> In cases where an inmate has otherwise satis­fied requirements for reentry and the remain­ing needed programming is not available be­cause of space limitations or the program­ming not being offered at the particular insti­tution at which the inmate is placed, DOC should review whether the remaining, un­completed program is essential; can be waived; or<br />satisfied in some other manner consistent with community safety. If not, every effort should be made to enroll the oth-<br />erwise-prepared inmate into required place­ments in the place of inmates, if any, who ei­ther do not need that particular program for release, or are not presently eligible for release.<br /> DOC should determine whether required pro­grams can be more easily obtained after re­lease while under supervision. If so, inmates should be released when appropriate and al­lowed to satisfy a required program that is not available to him or her in the institution.<br /> 12 Children of Incarcerated Parents, California Research Bureau, Charlene Wear Simmons, March, 2000 and Children of Incarcerated Par­ents, Council of Crime and Justice, January, 2006.<br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> A review should be conducted and data should be compiled going forward to allow DOC to determine whether decisions for requiring or allowing admission to programs necessary for release are being made upon inappropriate<br />considerations such as the race of the person being considered.<br /> The consideration of inmates for parole should be used as an incentive. Inmates who com­plete voluntary programs such as obtaining a GED or other education programs, should be granted a special review of their record. A chance to demonstrate progress and gain an earlier opportunity for release would provide significant incentive for inmates to complete programs that will prepare them for reentry into society, reduce their chances of recidivism, and therefore reduce both the disparity in in­carceration and the high level of incarceration in Wisconsin.<br />Recommendations<br />· DOC should review the prison discipline system to determine whether the data reflect any racial disparity in the consideration of and punishments imposed for violations of prison rules.<br />· DOC should review the use of the extension of inmates’ mandatory release date as a sanction, whether is an effective means of improving behavior and to what degree it adds to the length of inmate’s incarceration.<br />· A computerized system should be created to better maintain the records of the issuance and adjudication of major conduct reports.<br />DOC should create a mechanism for the DOC Central Office to review the impact and fair­ness of the prison disciplinary system to de­termine whether it is unnecessarily contribut­ing to the problem of racial disparity, and whether Conduct Reports or penalties are be­ing issued based on inappropriate considera­tions.<br />In the study of racial disparity, a necessary component was revocation from community supervision. It is impossible to determine from available data why people were revoked. Revocation with a new sentence is obviously the result of a new 9)<br />or newly discovered offense. However, people who are revoked with no new sentence may have committed no new crime and may have been revoked solely for violating the technical conditions of pro­bation, or may have been accused of a new crime that was not prosecuted because the person had been returned to prison. Using DOC statistics, the Commission exam­ined all people on community supervision from 2001-2006. Because some people are revoked multiple times and might inflate the statistics, we considered only each person's first period under community supervision. We have included the charts that reflect the re­sults of the evaluation in the appendix.<br />Recommendations<br />· A complete review of the parole process should be conducted.<br />· The DOC should review the level of discretion that probation/parole officers have in initiating revocation proceedings, and establish a process for reviewing discretionary decisions related to revocations.<br />The review of the parole process should in­clude an assessment of the standards used to determine suitability for parole, whether the data demonstrate a racial disparity in the granting of parole or length of deferrals, and whether the current system is the most effi­cient for use in Wisconsin when compared to models used in other states of like size and demographics.<br />In the review of discretionary decisions, DOC should insist that discretion be exercised in a manner that is consistent across the state, re­flects and advances legitimate policy objec­tives, and is not based upon any inappropri­ate considerations such as the race of the of­fender being considered for revocation.<br />DOC should prepare a report on at least an annual basis to monitor whether there is an ongoing racial disparity in revocations and whether there is any indication that such deci­sions are being made based upon any inap­propriate considerations such as race or whether current practices are exacerbating racial disparity.<br />DOC should provide policy direction to proba­tion/parole agents regarding appropriate ex­ercise of discretion in conduct that justifies initiation of revocation proceedings. Provid­ing clear policy goals related to public safety and offender rehabilitation would simplify the decision-making process for agents and would minimize the likelihood of decisions based on inappropriate considerations.<br />When safety considerations allow and when appropriate, DOC, working as frequently as feasible, with local officials, should develop policies that favor and promote rehabilitation over incarceration. The vast majority of in­mates will eventually return to their commu­nities. It is in the best interest of the overall population that the focus of correctional ef­forts be on the behavioral modification and skills development that will allow the success­ful reentry of the inmate into family and com­munity life.<br />DOC should consider alternatives to long-term and or temporary incarceration in cases where some form of discipline or supervision is necessary for offenders. While there are cer­tainly circumstances where public safety con­cerns will require incarceration, there are also times where house arrest or a period of being required to participate in electronic monitor­ing is adequate to satisfy safety and rehabilita­tion concerns.<br /> The impact on a probationer's/parolee's em­ployment status should be considered when appropriate. The primary concern expressed in the testimony was by inmates who, on be­ing released after being "cleared", found that they had lost employment due to the un­noticed work absences. The Commission heard frequent examples in which probation­ers or parolees were held in custody over peri­ods of time in which agents, having had the subject report to his or her office and from there ordering the subject held in custody, conducted "investigations" of reported viola­tions.<br />Recommendation<br />· The parole Commission should conduct a systematic review of all inmates currently eligible for parole to determine appropriateness for parole<br /> The Commission particularly recommends that inmates who are eligible for parole, but who have not received a review hearing within the last 48 months, be reviewed to as­sess their progress since the last review. De­ferrals should be reviewed to determine whether they were of appropriate length, consistent between panels, and panels should include more than one person and allow in­mate support and participation in hearings.<br /> The DOC Central Office should review a ran­dom sampling of inmate complaints and pre­pare reports on an annual basis. A summary report of those complaints as a random sam­pling and a statistical analysis should be for­warded to the appropriate legislative commit­tee for review.<br />DOC should continue monitoring and identi­fying effective systems for tracking officers with a pattern of disciplinary problems or who have otherwise demonstrated difficulty in in­teracting with inmates in a manner that is pro­fessional and consistent with DOC rules. Ap­propriate action should be taken.<br />Recommendation<br />· Doc should work collaborately with the faith communities to provide services that would assist in the rehabilitation of inmates and prepare them for release from prison. The networks built through this interaction will assist in the maintenance of strong ties and supervision once the inmate returns to his or her communities.<br /><br /> read full report PDF file:Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-23949676319057009212008-08-05T01:04:00.000-04:002008-08-05T01:07:22.754-04:00Criminal justice system finds kids of colorStaff/news services; capital TimesJanuary 13, 2007<br />Nonwhite youths in Wisconsin are far more likely than whites to have contacts with the criminal justice system - from arrest to sentencing - a new report has found.<br />The state data far exceeded national averages revealed in the report titled "<a href="http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2007jan_justice_for_some.pdf">And Justice for Some</a>" by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, a criminal justice research organization. The report was released Friday.<br />In it, Wisconsin led the nation in some categories and was near the highest in some others, said Barry Krisberg, president of the group that issued the report.<br />Gov. Jim Doyle will announce his plans Monday to appoint a commission to reduce lockup rates among nonwhites, especially blacks, said Doyle spokesman Matt Canter.<br />He won't find any guidance in the report. The Oakland, Calif.-based group stopped short of offering ideas for change, saying only that it is time for a nationwide effort to identify the causes and work to improve the system.<br />Krisberg said the report was meant to spur a discussion in communities and states across the country. It would be difficult to identify solutions that would work for all parts of the country, he said.<br />"This is not an issue where one-size-fits-all works," he said. "How you solve this in Milwaukee is different from how it works in L.A."<br />Krisberg said over the years that three key issues have been identified: the quality of legal representation for poor kids; whether the system is using objective rather than subjective decision-making; and whether communities invest in programs to assist youth where they live.<br />Pam Oliver, head of the Sociology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the report's statistics are similar to what she and others have found in studying incarceration rates in Wisconsin. The state the highest rate of imprisonment for black adults in the country.<br />"So the fact that youths are getting waived into adult court at very high rates is in the same ballpark as that," she said in an interview Friday.<br />Oliver said a number of factors appear to be involved, including higher rates of poverty among blacks than whites and increased policing of high-crime and poor neighborhoods, which tend to be predominantly black.<br />Increased policing, in turn, is more likely to lead to arrests for low-level crimes than in areas where police are more sparse, she said.<br />"Lots of kids engage in crimes when it comes to disorderly conduct, theft, and getting into fights with people," she said, but blacks are more likely to be nabbed by police and punished.<br />In Dane County, she noted, black youths tend to have contact with the juvenile justice system at a much earlier age and for less serious offenses than their white counterparts.<br />"The thing is, once you have a prior offense, you get treated more harshly the next time you get caught, so this policing of low-level offenses can give you a record," she said.<br />Oliver added that other statistics showed that white youths charged with a felony in Dane County "were more likely to get out of it." She said that could be because white parents are more likely to seek and receive help to get their children back on track.<br />"And I think the majority-white population has a differential response when it's their own kids" who are in trouble "than if it's kids who are from some other social group."<br />Between 2002 and 2004, nationally blacks were 16 percent of those under age 18 but accounted for 28 percent of juvenile arrests, the report showed. They became even more over-represented farther along in the process.<br />Blacks represented 30 percent of referrals to juvenile court, 37 percent of the detained population and 58 percent of youths admitted to adult prisons, according to the report.<br />Nationwide, blacks, Latinos, American Indians and Asians were placed in residential custody at a rate 3.1 times that of whites, the report showed.<br />In Wisconsin the rate was 10.3 times, the highest in the country.<br />Wisconsin also led the nation for the rate of blacks under 18 sent to adult prisons.<br />The report showed that the rate of black young people in Wisconsin sent to adult prison was 154 per 100,000, which compared to the national average of 44.1 per 100,000. The next highest state was Oregon at 142.6 per 100,000.<br />Wisconsin also had the highest rate of Latino youth sent to adult prison at 50.8 per 100,000, far ahead of the national average of 7.4. The next highest behind Wisconsin was North Carolina at 33.1 per 100,000.<br />The findings also showed that nationwide, black young people were held in detention at 4.5 times the rate of whites and Latinos were detained 2.3 times the rate of whites.<br />In Wisconsin the disparity was even higher. Blacks were detained at a rate 18.4 times that of whites, behind only South Dakota (47 times) and North Dakota (21.2 times). Latinos in Wisconsin were 3.9 times more likely to be in detention, tying with Utah for 12th highest in the country.<br />Madison mayoral candidate Peter Munoz, who is on leave from his job as executive director of Centro Hispano, said he believes the higher incarceration rates for young Latinos reflects that many are "completely disenfranchised. They don't feel they belong to the majority," and as a result may be more likely to commit crimes.<br />"A lot of people would say there's discrimination, but a lot of youths are involved in bad behavior. They're more noticeable and the fear factor is greater, so (authorities) may want to respond with harsher penalties," he said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-3566303058976250322008-08-05T01:02:00.000-04:002008-08-05T01:04:10.521-04:00WHAT IS ‘ON THE GROUND’ RACISMessay by Ed Steichen, Waunakee resident, life time activist and member of MUM and MEP<br /><br /> How many frogs did you see on the road or the sidewalk as you came to this meeting? Do you ever make it a point to count frogs when you travel from place to place? You don't?? Why Not? Because it isn't necessary, not even useful, for your survival to count frogs that cross your path.<br /> How many times today were you conscious of the color of your skin? If you're white, it is about as important for your survival as it is to count frogs. If you're not white, it is as useful as it is to watch for cars when you cross the street.<br /> Those of us who are white live in a white world. Those who are not white, live in a different world. In the following I speak of the black world because roots of the prison system are traceable to black slavery and because I am more familiar with it. Many of the observations apply in good measure to other racial and minority groups.<br /> My point is this. The white world has built institutions, even terrorist institutions, that create chronic anger, fear and failure in non-white populations - based on the color of their skin. Life lived in an environment of constant hostility and harassment is destructive. At the same time, life lived in an environment of power over others is also destructive.<br /> The World of White Entitlement<br /> The White world is the presence of history. History is not just the past. It is also the present. Our Constitution was written by white Anglo Saxon property owning males. (I have read that they represented about 4% of the population.) The Constitution took great care to protect the property of those white Anglo-Saxon males. That property included black slaves. Black slaves were a major asset in the American economy – like computers are today. To this day the courts prefer property over people, white over black, rich over poor.<br /> Cheap government land was distributed to whites. Blacks were excluded. Today “rural America" is white. White rural legislators have herded black prisoners into white rural areas to benefit the white economy. Many of the expenses of this rural prison system are put on the backs of the families of black prisoners.<br /> Social security and workman's comp were passed for white people. Southern legislators ensured that blacks were excluded. Aid to widowed mothers was initially passed for white widows. General welfare - which carried a heavy load of shame - was for blacks. Low cost housing loans and the G.I. bill covering costs of college were provided for whites. Blacks were excluded. These laws built the white suburbs with access to the better schools and jobs. These entitlement programs for whites represent tens of trillions of dollars.<br /> Several generations of these government entitlements built white family wealth and white community wealth, produced an educated white population, and white business, social and cultural institutions, systems that served whites, ­not blacks - health care systems, legal assistance, and political representation. Blacks were excluded.<br /> Segregation was almost as effective as slavery for exploiting the wealth produced by black communities. Segregation created a terrorist society that very efficiently prevented education and political empowerment of blacks.<br /> The thirteenth amendment was passed to abolish slavery, except as a punishment for crime. It abolished slavery in the private sector, but established it in the public sector. It became the tool for re-establishing slavery in the south. Emancipated black men were herded into plantation prisons. A lot of “prison culture” in this country came right out of those slave prisons. <br /> In spite of vociferous white denial, the white world was built by white men for white men by extremely effective government programs. Government programs work - for the purposes of those who have the power to impose them.<br /> The black world of Wisconsin.<br /> Roughly 10% of the American population is black. Fifty percent of the prison population is black.Five percent of the Wisconsin population is black. 50% of the prison population is black. 65% of the supermax prison population has been black. Drug use is slightly higher among the white population. So is drug dealing.<br /> In 1985 Wisconsin had less than 6000 prisoners. Today Wisconsin has nearly 22,000 prisoners. The crime rate has changed very little. This growth rate has been one of the highest in the nation. The rate of incarcerating blacks has been the highest in the nation. The rate for imprisoning whites has been below the national average. The rate of incarcerating blacks in this country is much higher than the rate of total incarcerations in all other countries. This country has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. <br /> Wisconsin's supermax prison has been called one of the worst in the nation for psychological torture. Two of the past four Secretaries of the DOC have condemned the supermax for incarcerating far too many prisoners in these extreme conditions. The court appointed monitor of the supermax has reported that the DOC has no research to support its programs, no established guidelines, no clear expected outcomes and no means of evaluating its activities regarding supermax prisoners. It is basically a center of extreme mental torture applied by arbitrary decisions by staff with little competence for no institutionally agreed on purpose. This is the essence of terrorism. Terrorism is the worst type of psychological torture. It is irrational, arbitrarily applied pain approved by authority. The supermax inmate population has been 65% black.<br /> Re-entry of inmates into the civilian population is extremely difficult. Consider this: a white male felon has a greater chance of getting a job than an equally qualified black male non-felon. Roughly one third of young black men are under the supervision of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Wisconsin is not one of the high crime states in the nation. There is no relationship between the rate of incarceration and the crime rate. The causes are political. That is the meaning of Jim Crow.<br /> Wisconsin has had the second highest rate of black child poverty in the nation. Wisconsin has the worst record in the nation for graduating black youth from high school. Don't blame it all on poverty. Young blacks from middle class black families, from well educated black families, from adoptive families with well educated white parents have many similar race related problems in school.<br /> There is a serious gap in achievement between white and black children who remain in school until graduation. There is a serious gap in access to valuable extra curricular courses - band, debate, plays, etc. (Football and basketball are, of course, exceptions.) White middle class PTA's are resistant to significant participation by black parents. Schools are internally segregated. Zero tolerance policies are applied more heavily to black children than to white children. We adults don't like to be forced into strange and hostile situations. Yet we expect it of small black children.<br /> A black woman teen counselor told me that she always begins by legitimizing the suppressed anger of young black boys. Randall Robinson, one of the great blacks in the civil rights struggle, recently wrote a book named "Quit America". He has moved to the small black country of his wife where he is just another normal citizen. Imagine the impact on his life.<br /> One last thought. There are prisons - hardly any in this country - where prisoners and staff are treated with respect, treated as human beings. The differences in inmate behavior and outcome are impressive, even for those pariahs - the sexual predators. The way America treats prisoners is cultural, not rational, not healthy, not necessary. It does not protect public safety. It reflects the values of this society. And it comes out of slavery.<br />There have been a number of article lately about the following phenomenom- who gets to count the prisoners- the place where their homes is, or the prison town? It makes a big difference in tax money but especially in government representatives and the present practice diesenfranchises millions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154412667018880588.post-23806792779672181582008-08-05T00:42:00.001-04:002008-08-26T15:51:24.483-04:00Wisconsin’s Myth of Rehabilitation<em>By a Wisconsin Prisoner<br /></em> In recent years there has been more than ever calls for longer sentences to combat the growing fear and rise of crime or criminal elements within our neighborhoods and communities. Inspiring, but veteran politicians have used the tougher sentencing scheme as a platform to ignite their political careers and to perpetuate this fear and outcry from everyday citizens which cuts across all ethnic lines, whose lives have been touched directly or indirectly by crime. This has resulted in the over­crowding of jails and prisons all around the state of Wisconsin, with a significance primarily focused on the predominantly larger Black or Hispanic or minority areas.<br /> And while more and more young Black and Brown males are being incarcerated for demonstrating antisocial behaviors such as drug addictions, robberies, homicides, sexual crimes, etc., many of these poor underprivileged and under-represented class of people suffer from some form of mental affliction ranging from severe to mild mental diseases and defects. It is these outcasted members of society who can't afford to hire competent attorneys for representation to defend them or help them get into drug rehabilitation clinics or mental health institutions to combat the poisonous chemicals they have become dependent upon in an attempt to escape the realities of their living condition of impoverished and depressing neighborhoods. The rich rarely serve time in any prison for any kind of crime, as they can buy their way out with hiring a good high profile attorney and receive real justice.<br /> America and Wisconsin have a longstanding history of incarcerating the uneducated, untrained and oftentimes mentally handicapped minority who are ignorant of the laws and intricacies of the criminal justice system, so they are provided quarter defenses if that, by state-paid overworked, burnt out, underpaid State Public Defenders whose main objective is not to fight and mount any kind of real defense but to get the measly few thousand dollars the state is paying him/her and dispose of the case quickly, which oftentimes more than not are settled through plea agreements.<br /> Such a quagmire are realities for minorities who have the unfortunate luck to get caught-up within the American System of Justice. It's also unfortunate that so many has come to believe in the political rhetoric and media propaganda that locking up citizens and warehousing them in these industrialized institutions now called "Correctional Institutions," rather than what they are ("Prisons"), will solve the problem of crime.<br /> This misrepresentation and manipulative power of circumstances and environment are in my belief the root behind thousands of minorities arrested daily within Wisconsin's ghetto's for serious and petty crimes, in an attempt to feed their addictions from drugs to materialism, placing them in processes of legal and judicial entanglement.<br /> I, like so many Blacks in the ghettos of America was also duped into criminal activities for whatever reason, and have served as a conduit for the accumulation of political power and grand­standing by those politicians and aspiring political figures who complain about repeat criminal offenders (primarily blacks),while these hypocrites secretly make millions from the criminal elements of the streets.<br /> What realistic opportunity does an unskilled, undereducated ex-con have for success when you have a governmental body that has passed laws which says companies and corporations doesn't have to hire ex-offenders, Housing and Urban Development can deny you housing, school grants can be denied you simply because you're an felon, and there is no governmental assistance programs to act as a safety net for ex-offenders. The answer, of course is self-evident— he has no options, he must do more crime in order to survive or revocate himself.<br /> Wisconsin like the Country has taken on the title "Correctional Institutions," from the root word [Correct] meaning to remove the errors or fault. This very play of words are design to manipulate and hoodwink the masses of society by the power structure and government into believing prisoners are not just being imprisoned as punishment, but are being rehabilitated.<br />The reality is that many prisoners rehabilitate themselves and yet, even though many are eligible for parole, in Wisconsin's penal system we remain imprisoned as society is methodically manipulated by politicians and Prison Unions who utilizes pernicious, insidious schemes to exploit and sensationalize with the help of the media those circumstances where an ex-offender gets out and re-offend.<br /> This type of cunning and intellectual racism is superb. America and States like Wisconsin have a proud history of thwart­ing minority progress; It is not enough that most incarcerated prisoners are disadvantaged, but must be kept in a system of disinfranchisement and slavery for as long as humanly possible. This is how rural "White America," and its dying farm industry has been revitalized, and how "white," underprivileged Americans become middle or the working class, as Wisconsin's Prison system is predominately 65% or better of Black and or African-American, while 95% of those hired to guard and administrate these places are White. It doesn't take Einstein to see the system is designed to make profit off black bodies as it has done since America and Western Europe invaded Africa in 1618.<br /> And no accident that the Parole Board and Parole Chairman has been denying eligible prisoners parole, instead opting to give lengthy deferrals such as 48 months, 60 months and longer as Parole Board Chairman Alonzo Graham, an ex policeman, approved these questionable and undoubtedly racially motivated deferrals. No program of rehabilitation and consequent social, economic regeneration can be effectively achieved, unless these depraved and racist tactics to keep incarcerated eligible prisoners incar­cerated are addressed by the people of this state and its Governor. This kind of dissipation must be destroyed and removed from the penal system.<br /> So long as this practice and program continues to operate as presently allowed, there can be no real chance for regeneration of minorities members back into society as productive citizens. Wisconsin Parole system needs to undergo serious changes in its policies and practices. In most states the Parole Board consists of two or more members to fairly and accurately reflect a panel that's impartial in body and thought, however, in Wisconsin there's only one person sitting as decision maker, determining whether or not parole should be granted.<br /> This policy and practice is merely perfunctory, a sham process whose primary goal is to do nothing, but make society believe its affording prisoners a fair and accurate hearing for chances at parole. Through the genius of trickonolledgy politicians and the Wisconsin's DOC Parole Board has reinstated a situation that's identical to institutionalized slavery because there are no grassroot support or outcries against the practices being promulgated in Wisconsin.<br /> There is no public outcry at the rampant inmate abuses and fraudulent misbehavior reports orchestrated and designed to keep prisoners incarcerated as former governor Tommy Thompson advocated, and although other states that employ loss of good time, the prisoner is allowed or afforded the chance to re-earn their loss time through good behavior, not so in Wisconsin penal system. This time is taken and never returned.<br /> This is much like the slave who could not effectively stand up and challenge his/her slave master. This was true because the slave had no ally to help alter the balance of power in his /her favor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0