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| Fewer Blacks in Prison for Drug Crimes |
| By Alexandra Marks |
| Published: 04/20/2009 |
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For the first time in a quarter century, the number of African-Americans incarcerated for drug offenses in state prisons has declined more than 20 percent while the number of white imprisoned drug offenders has increased more than 40 percent. The decline took place over a six year period from 1999 to 2005 and reflects fundamental changes in the so-called "war on drugs" -- how it's targeted and prosecuted -- as well as the waning of the crack epidemic in predominantly minority urban areas and the increase in methamphetamine abuse in largely white rural neighborhoods. The trends were identified in an analysis of Justice Department statistics released Tuesday by The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice and reform nonprofit in Washington, D.C. The study found that an increase in the number of drug courts and state-level efforts to find alternatives to incarceration may have played a role in bringing about the change. "Over the last year or two, largely because of the fiscal crisis, states around the country are reconsidering many of their sentencing and incarceration policies, particularly for lower level drug offenses," says Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project and author of the study. "So it seems reasonably likely that we could see some decline in the overall number of people incarcerated for drug offenses." Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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