We are the fastest growing minority group in the prison system. One in four prisoners is Latino. Latino children are more than 3 times as likely to have a parent in jail, compared to a white person (Morin). This leads me to think that Latinos like myself are more inclined to violence and to incarceration but this isn’t necessarily true as most Latinos incarcerated are in jail due to non-violent offences. Like my other classmates have posted, sometimes the media’s portrayal of a Latino and harsh drug and immigration laws can sometimes influence the incarcerations taking place but either way we make up a lot of the majority in prison and this is something we should be working against, or trying to fix. So why are Latinos being incarcerated at such a frequent rate?
One reason is the war on drugs. This war on drugs has to do with our incarcerations because the majority of locations affected by drugs are usually low income neighborhoods stricken by poverty, where Latinos and Blacks often reside. Another big reason is that someone in prison isn’t allowed to
vote, but yet they are still accounted for on the census and therefore the government/state still receives taxes for that person. That seems like a pretty big reason to want Latino’s in prison, they aren't allowed to vote and so they’re voice isn’t heard and does not count. Some other reasons include racial profiling, the inability to communicate and speak english and often times running around without papers or identification due to an undocumented status. Also the Rockefeller Drug Laws of 1973 made it even more difficult for Latinos to stay out of prison as you could receive up to 15 years in prison for a couple of grams of narcotics, whether selling or just in possession. Personally I feel as if Latinos are either sort of targetted for jail or set up in a way that goes back to the origins of our countries. Some examples of this could be the Cuban crime wave, barrios and slums and other unnecessary obstacles put in the way of a minority.
Now, not only do we have to deal with many unnecessary obstacles and harsh living conditions but the state also chooses to fund private prisons and federal prisons much more than higher educational facilities. This may be because of crime, but I feel like if they were to focus more on resources
and keeping people out of jail then all of this funding wouldn’t be needed for prisons in the first place. Basically I read a document that discussed NYC in the 90s and how prisons received more funding than SUNY’s (Gangi). This isn’t really shocking to me as I have known about the privatization of jails for a while but it should be shocking to anyone reading this just because it’s amazing how money goes to things like wars, the army and prison funding but it never goes towards artistic programs, after school programs, or even something as simple as a neighborhood park to keep kids away from the streets.
The main takeaway I want people to have from this blog is some of the reasons why we are going to jail at such a frequent rate, also I really want people to read about our government funding and where it is going. Lastly, I feel like all of these incarcerations could have been avoided but harsh drug laws and the inability to speak english by some Latinos may have led to many of these incarcerations and changed lives, lives that could have been changed for the better had it not been for the incarceration of a father, brother or son.
References
Gangi, Robert. New York State of Mind?(n.d.): n. pag. New York State of Mind?: Higher
Education vs. Prison Funding in the Empire State.Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Morin, Jose L. "Young Latino Males: An American Delima." Young Latino Males. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Morin, Jose L. "Young Latino Males: An American Delima." Young Latino Males. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
I had almost the same topic, and it's kind of crazy to me that Latinos are counted in the census but can't vote... I didn't know that. It's also terrible that so much funding goes to these prisons which are probably full of people who are in there because of the color of their skin. If a lot of that funding went to schools in impoverished areas, there may be less people of color in prisons because they would have access to better education and learn their rights because like you said, the inability to speak English may have led to some of the incarcerations, and that could have been easily prevented by more programs to help Latinos.
ReplyDeleteI am part of an organization that did a program this semester, about the prison to pipeline system in this country. it was about how latinos and african americans get punished in school more severely than white students for the same things. so eventually they drop out and in turn they end up in jail. this is one of the reasons that latinos are going to jail at an alarming rate. this cant be the only reason though.
ReplyDeletei never knew or even considered the amount of fundings that a prison gets. Even more so that they get more funding than SUNY's is pretty shocking to me. With drugs being an issue in most lower class areas where mostly Latino and African Americans reside it makes sense that most of the imprisoned individuals are of that descent. Its unfortunate that through that, Latinos and African Americans are blamed for it when in reality it could not have anything to do with them. It also doesnt help about the Rockefeller Drug Laws especially if the drugs are being found in their neighborhoods. As a Latino myself, its clear to see how hard it can be for our people to fit in and live peacefully in certain areas.
ReplyDeleteI find it really absurd the amount of money that goes into our prison systems each year instead of our schools. If the government took the time to actually give the schools any percentage of that money of that money given to the prisons we might not have this problem. The more the schools are funded, the more we could prevent children from dropping out and ending up in a prison. If it's instilled at a young age, the amount of individuals in prisons can be reduced.
ReplyDeletethis blog was an interesting read because it is something that i think about quite frequently. It crazy and mind blowing how much money from tax payers,to private funding, the prison system gets. Prisons get more funding than schools, and this to me is sad. its like a domino effect, if there were the same funding in schools prisons wouldn't be as crowded
ReplyDeleteI liked how you focused on the war on drugs as one of the reasons in why there are such high incarcerations. Our government has been using law enforcement as a way of discriminating minorities. In another class I was required to read The New Jim Crow and it focuses on mass incarceration and how it targets Blacks and Latinos. The author speaks how this is a new form of restricting the rights of minorities since after you are convicted you loose rights such as voting, you have less job opportunities and are not offered services such as housing. I agree with you how this is an issue that many should be aware of because it is our government that supports this and has used drugs as an excuse to target minorities and put them in jail.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read. I often wondered why the number of minorities in the prison have increased drastically. I didn't know that latinos were counted in the census and they can't vote. It is crazy to think about the amount of money going in to the prison system. Imagine if the money is invested in school facilities and after school activities we can keep the in risk children busy and avoid ending up in the prison.
ReplyDeleteTo me drugs are found at such high rate on minorities because it sometimes is a last resort to what you can do for survival. People sell drugs because it's good easy money as long as you dat get caught. You don't have to go through much to get results so it automatically seems like the best choice.
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