Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice in Wisconsin

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Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice in
Wisconsin

• Pamela Oliver

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Plan for the Talk

• National overview
• Wisconsin patterns in imprisonment (with mention
  of overall incarceration)
• Age Patterns of imprisonment in Wisconsin
• County comparisons in imprisonment
• County comparisons in arrests Short
• Implications making the problem worse
• What is to be done

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The Magnitude of the Problem
4
Comparing International Incarceration Rates
(Source Sentencing Project)
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World Incarceration Rates in 1995 Adding US Race
Patterns
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Nationally, The Black Population is Being
Imprisoned at Alarming Rates

• Upwards of 1/3 of the Black male population is
  under the supervision of the correctional system
  (prison, jail, parole, probation)
• Estimated lifetime expectancy of spending some
  time in prison is 29 for young Black men.
• About 12 of Black men in their 20s are in prison
• 7 of Black children, 2.6 of Hispanic children,
  .8 of White children have a parent in prison (at
  one time) lifetime expectancy much higher

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About Rates Disparity Ratios

• Imprisonment and arrest rates are expressed as
  the rate per 100,000 of the appropriate
  population
• Example In 1999 Wisconsin new prison sentences
• 1021 Whites imprisoned, White population of
  Wisconsin was 4,701,123 1021 4701123
  .000217. Multiply .00021 by 100,000 22, the
  imprisonment rate per 100,000 population.
• 1,266 Blacks imprisoned, Black population of
  Wisconsin was 285,308. 1266 285308 .004437.
  Multiply by 100,000 444
• Calculate Disparity Ratios by dividing rates
  444/22 20.4 the Black/White ratio in new prison
  sentence rates

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US Prison Admissions by Race
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The 1970s Policy Shift

• Shift to determinate sentencing, higher penalties
• LEAA, increased funding for police departments
• Crime becomes a political issue
• Drug war funding gives incentives to police to
  generate drug arrests convictions
• Post-civil rights post-riots competitive race
  relations, race-coded political rhetoric.?

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Social Conditions, Political Processes, Crime,
and Corrections
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Imprisonment Has Increased While Crime Has
Declined

• Imprisonment rates are a function of responses to
  crime, not a function of crime itself
• Property crimes declined steadily between 1970s
  and 2000
• Violent crime declined modestly overall, with
  smaller ups and downs in the period

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Crime Trends

• Source Crunching Numbers Crime and
  Incarceration at the End of the Millennium by Jan
  M. Chaiken
• Based on Bureau of Justice Statistics data from
  National Crime Victimization Survey. Figures
  adjusted for changed methodology, shaded area
  marks change.

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Property Crime
15
Violent Crime
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Rape
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The Drug War

• Most of the increase in imprisonment is due to
  drug offenses.
• Drug use rates have generally declined since the
  1980s, while drug imprisonments have increased.
• Black adult drug use rates are only slightly
  higher than White (see next chart), while their
  imprisonment rates for drugs are enormous
• Among juveniles, Blacks use illegal drugs less
  than Whites, but Black juveniles have much higher
  drug arrest rates.

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Current Illicit Drug Use Among Adults (National
Patterns)

• 6.6 percent for Whites
• 6.8 percent for Hispanics
• 7.7 percent for Blacks
• 10.6 percent for American Indian/Alaska Natives
  (this is largely marijuana, rates for other drugs
  are lower than other races)
• 11.2 percent for persons reporting multiple race
• 3.2 percent for Asians
• Source 1999 National Household Survey on Drug
  Abuse

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Wisconsins High Black Incarceration Rate

• Headlines in 2002
• Wisconsin 1 in Black incarceration in 2001

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Contributors to Incarceration Rates

• Prisons (state-level federal facilities)
• New sentences for new offenses
• Length of sentence for each offense
• Probation parole revocations
• Jails (local county-level facilities)
• Short-term sentences for convictions (number
  length per sentence
• Held awaiting trial
• Held awaiting probation/parole revocation hearing
• Growing use of prisons/jails for disruptive
  mentally ill

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Disparities Higher For Prison than Jail

• BJS said Wisconsins overall Black/White
  incarceration disparity is 10 to 1.
• Prison disparity is closer to 20 to 1
• This means there is less disparity in jail than
  prisons
• Most of Wisconsins counties are overwhelmingly
  White, presumably have overwhelmingly Whites in
  their jails
• Prisons in Wisconsin are now majority Black
  despite Blacks being only 5 of general population

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Wisconsin Prison Admissions

• Including Detailed Time Trends 1990-1999

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New Imprisonment Rates by State, 1996
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National Wisconsin Imprisonment Rates
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Wisconsin Prison Admissions by Race
Black
AmerInd
Hispanic
White
Asian
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Total Admits, Whites
Wisconsin White NH Total Prison Admissions
Violent
Theft
Robbery Burglary
Drugs
Other
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Total Admits, Offense Blacks
Drugs
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Other
Theft
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Total Admits, Hispanics
Drugs
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Theft
Other
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Proportion of Admissions Involving New Sentences
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White Admissions Status
Violation Only
New Sentence Only
Violation New
31
Blacks Admission Status
Violation Only
New Sentence Only
Violation New
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Total admits, violations only
Black
AmerInd
Hispanic
White
Asian
33
Whites, Violators
Violent
Theft
Robbery Burglary
Other
Drugs
34
Black violators
Drugs
Violent
Theft
Robbery Burglary
Other
35
Total Admits, New Sentences Only
Prison Admission by Race 1990-1999, New Sentence
Only
Black
Hispanic
Asian
White
AmerInd
36
New Sentences, Whites
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Other
Drugs
Theft
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New Sentences, Blacks Offense
Drugs
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Theft
Other
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Conclusions About Wisconsin Prison Admissions

• Huge racial disparities, especially Black vs.
  White
• Probation/parole violators returning to prison
  are a major source of the rise
• Blacks show steep rises in new sentences for
  drugs, while Whites show no increase
• White new sentences are primarily for violent
  offenses.
• Black new sentences are primarily for drug
  offenses.

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Age Patterns for Imprisonment
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New sentences by age, race
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Offenses by Age, Whites
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Offenses by Age, Blacks
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Disparities by Age, Offense
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County Comparisons
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Males in prison per 100,000 population in April
2000, Wisconsin Counties with More than 1000
Non-Prisoner Blacks
counties with lt 1000 American Indians
Graphic calculated using 1999 population estimates
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Females in Prison per 100,000 population in
April, 2000,Wisconsin Counties with More than
1000 Non-Prisoner Blacks
counties with lt 1000 American Indians
Graphic calculated using 1999 population estimates
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Total Prison Admissions Per 100,000 in 1999
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Compare Counties Whites New Sentences
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Compare counties Black, new sentences thick
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Compare Counties, New Sentences B/w ratio
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County Drug Disparities by Time
Dane
Waukesha
WI Bal.
Rock
Kenosha
Racine
Milwaukee
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Compare counties, Whites violations
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Compare Counties, Blacks Violations
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Compare Counties, Violations B/W ratio
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Milwaukee New Totals
Black
Hispanic
White
AmerInd
Asian
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Milwaukee New Black
Drugs
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Theft
Other
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Milwaukee New White
Violent
Other
Drugs
Robbery Burglary
Theft
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Dane New Totals All Races
Black
AmerInd
Hispanic
White
Asian
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Dane New Black
Drugs
Violent
Theft
Robbery Burglary
Other
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Dane New White
Violent
Robbery Burglary
Theft
Other
Drugs
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Racine Totals New Sentences
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Racine New Black
63
Racine New White
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Kenosha new totals
Black
AmerInd
Hispanic
white
Asian
65
Kenosha New Black
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Kenosha New White
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Rock New Totals
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Rock New Black
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Rock New White
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Waukesha Total
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Waukesha New Black
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Waukesha New White
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WI balance total
Black
Asian
AmerInd
Hispanic
white
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WI balance new black
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WI balance new white
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Dane vs. Milwaukee Counties

• A more detailed look at offense breakdowns

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Prison Entry From Dane County 1999, by offense
and race
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Dane County Prison Admissions per 100,000 by race
offense, 1999 (Totals Black 3361, White 87)
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Milwaukee and Dane County Prison
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Milwaukee and Dane County Arrests
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Milwaukee County Allocating Disparities to
Arrest vs. Post-Arrest Processing
72 of difference is due to arrest differentials
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Dane County Allocating Disparities to Arrest
vs. Post-Arrest Processing
37 of difference is due to arrest differentials
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Arrest Rates in Madison Milwaukee, 1998-1999

• Source Uniform Crime Reports Data obtained from
  Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance

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Annual Arrest Rate Per 100,000 Madison PD
1998-1999
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Adult Arrest Rates Per 100,000Average 1998-1999
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Juvenile Arrest Rates Per 100,000 Average
1998-1999
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Total Juvenile Arrests
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Adult, Total arrests
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Arrests 1997-1999 Averages Adult Disparity Ratios
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Arrests 1997-1999 Averages Juvenile Disparity
Ratios
 
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Rates of Arrest for Specific Offenses 1998-9 Dane
County Juveniles
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Rates of Arrest for Specific Drug Offenses,
1998-9 Dane County Juveniles
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Rates of Arrest for Specific Offenses 1998-9 Dane
County Juveniles
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Conclusions

• The drug war is being fought against Blacks and
  this problem is especially bad in Wisconsin
• Probation/parole violation holds are a major
  source of arrests and a major source of jail
  crowding.
• Large racial disparities in serious crimes
  indicate a real problem that needs to be
  addressed
• Racial patterns of arrests for lesser offenses
  create prior offenses which affect sentencing

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Making Things Worse

• High imprisonment rates (including longer
  sentences, high rates of probation/parole
  revocation) are not a constructive way of dealing
  with the problem of non-violent property crimes
  (thefts) and drug offenses
• Enormous expenses to house these offenders in
  prison
• Destruction of offenders lives and and serious
  harm to their families
• Because of racial targeting of the drug war, the
  harmful consequences of this policy are being
  concentrated in Black communities, while the
  beneficiaries of the policy do not pay its price

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Effects of Incarceration

• Criminal Records Racial Discrimination Hurt
  Employment Opportunities
• Next few slides are from research by Devah Pager,
  new PhD from University of Wisconsin Sociology,
  Now on faculty at Northwestern
• This was a controlled experiment in which matched
  pairs of applicants applied for entry-level jobs
  advertised in Milwaukee newspapers

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Figure 4. The Effect of a Criminal Record on
Employment Opportunities for Whites
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Figure 5. The Effect of a Criminal Record for
Black and White Job Applicants
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An Individual Life Course Model of Crime With
Policing Added
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Imprisonment as a Cause of Crime?
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What is to be done?

• This is not a sound bite issue.
• Factors include a combination of bias, real
  differences in serious crime, social political
  conditions
• Patterns are arising from the core structures of
  our society
• But there are steps we can take

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Oppose the drug war

• Treatment and public education are the most
  effective ways to reduce drug use
• Drug enforcement just increases the profits of
  illegal drugs, makes the problem worse
• Learn about the consequences of alcohol
  prohibition drive-by shootings, organized crime
• The largest racial disparities are for drug
  offenses
• Association of violence with drugs is due to
  illegality police enforcement

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Oppose tough on crime rhetoric

• Help depoliticize crime as an issue
• Distinguish among different kinds of crimes
• Take the crime problems of poor ( economically
  integrated) neighborhoods seriously without
  over-reacting and middle class panic
• Call for rehabilitation restoration for lesser
  offenses, not lock em up

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Revisit probation parole

• The vast majority of offenders are not murderers
  or rapists they will get out
• Insist the system focus on rehabilitating and
  reintegrating offenders, rather than looking for
  opportunities to incarcerate them
• NOTE Wisconsin has abolished parole, but has
  extended supervision

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Address root causes of crime

• Reduce poverty and deprivation through income
  transfers (e.g. earned income credit), training
  programs, living wages
• Provide social support, education, constructive
  alternatives for juveniles who are not doing well
  in school
• Need to break the inter-generational cycle caused
  by massive incarceration

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Address racial bias prejudice

• Racial discrimination in employment housing
  reduce constructive options
• Conscious and unconscious biases, perceptions,
  assumptions affect policing sentencing
• White fear of crime more sensitive to presence of
  Blacks than to actual crime rates
• Politicians play on Whites race-tinged crime
  fears in pushing tough on crime policies

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Racism and Justice Conclusions

• We cannot move from an unjust to a just situation
  by ignoring race and pretending the disparities
  are not there
• We cannot achieve racial justice by ignoring the
  real differences in serious crimes, economic
  social conditions
• We cannot achieve racial justice by treating this
  as somebody elses problem
• Politics caused the problem, and politicians need
  to be part of the solution