Study: 1 in 5 young black city men in jail

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Sun Staff
Originally published March 15, 2005

More than half of Baltimore's African-American men in their 20s are either incarcerated or under criminal justice system supervision, according to a study being released today by a Washington-based research organization.

The Justice Policy Institute, which favors alternatives to prison, argues in its report that much of the money spent on incarceration would be better spent on drug treatment and community redevelopment. The report combines Maryland incarceration statistics with conclusions from selected sociological studies to raise questions about the efficacy of imprisonment in lowering crime.

"The basic idea is there are too many people locked up," said Eric Lotke, co-author of the report and research director for the Justice Policy Institute. "We basically said, 'We've got to tell people about this. We've got to connect these dots.'"

While many in law enforcement expressed dismay yesterday with the study's statistical findings, some argued that detention remains a vital crime-fighting component.

According to the institute's report, there are about 25,000 black men in Baltimore between the ages of 20 and 30, and 52 percent of them are incarcerated or on parole or probation. Statewide, nearly 10 percent of black men in their 20s are incarcerated in either jail or prison. In the city, the percentage is nearly 20 percent, the study found.

State corrections officials confirmed yesterday the accuracy of the incarceration figures used to derive most of those statistics.

"You've got one in five young black men living in a cage," Lotke said. "I saw that 'one in five' figure for Baltimore, and I wanted to cry."

Lotke faulted police, lawmakers, prosecutors, state and city government, and judges, contending that they are running on "autopilot" and continue to lock up more offenders, even while crime is declining.

Some officials cautioned against using the study's figures to draw conclusions about the dispensation of justice.

"You need to look a little deeper before you make one big blanket statement," said Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for Mayor Martin O'Malley.

She said that since being elected in 1999, the mayor has more than doubled the slots available in city-sponsored drug treatment - from 11,000 to 25,000 - and has overseen the creation of early-disposition court, which is intended to quickly resolve lesser crimes.

Shareese DeLeaver, a spokeswoman for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., said the governor has been working to refocus the corrections system on education, treatment and training.

"Any statistic of this nature bothers the administration," DeLeaver said, "as it's a sign we can do better on several levels - state government, federal government and local government."

State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy was "alarmed" by the statistic, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said. The city state's attorney's office attempts to target violent offenders for prosecution while nonviolent drug offenders are diverted into treatment, spokeswoman Margaret T. Burns said.

City police said they disagree with the assertion made by the Justice Policy Institute that "crime continues to rise in Baltimore neighborhoods most impacted by the justice system." Police spokesman Matt Jablow said that over the past five years, crime significantly decreased in virtually all city neighborhoods, especially those hardest hit by violence.

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Wats your view @ burning

Being a washington native, is it lawless round your ends or is this just hullabolloo,

I heard washington aint too safe, but what area is?

hmmmm...very informative although I find it hard to believe 1/2 of blk men in thier 20's is/was in jail. Although the things I hear from balitimore connects well with this article.

The operative phrase is "...or under criminal justice system suprrvision"

Prison Statistics
Summary findings | BJS publications | Selected statistics |
Also by BJS staff | Related sites

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Summary findings
On December 31, 2003,


-- 2,085,620 prisoners were held in Federal or State prisons or in local jails --
There are over 35 million Blacks in the US, do the math.

That AIDS issue concerns me

I read somewher that Aids was the biggest killer of black woman between the ages of 27- 35 and that ur woman make up 65% of aids cases in US for women. What worries me most is thatI read this on blackamericaweb.com , so I guess its somewhat authentic( I'll find the link and post it)

Also, this idea that AIDS is a white homo disease really puzzles me. Surely in this day and age we can't be that ignorant. But this mentailty still exists, in Africa and the West.

Back to the main issues

What can be realistically done in your view@ burning.

Interesting BS.....its just so worrying, but i guess the most important qeustion here is.....what are the community representatives doing to educate people on the whole?? And why is the AIDS epidemic so prevalent with the African American females?? I am confused here, how is it so wide spread with the women onlyconfused3

CM,

I think we as Black/African men need to be a stabilizing force in our children's live's.Too manydo not have fathers in their lives,and that fact has an effect on behaviour.Then we need to really drew a line on this hip hop life style that has added to the "I don't give a f***" mentality that many Black males have.

Is it really just lack of fathers for sons.Is not the"i dont give a f*** mentallity" independent of hip hop.

The greatest country in the world and a city can have onefifth of black men in prison.

Thats why that place has never appealed to me. When African Americans are under pressure.. they are Under Pressure.



Plus the facts that the prisons are a business out there. A heck of alot of people eat well out of Black males going to jail.

Seems like some form of formula is needed to stop some of these poor areas being like literal warzones.

That was a disturbing article.