DR. HEATHER ANN THOMPSON
DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIESDEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
Why Mass Incarceration Matters to Social Workers
or…The Importance of Reckoning with the History of, and Wrestling
with the Present-Day Impact of, the Carceral State on the Ground and in the Trenches
Mass Incarceration
By 2008
Number of Americans in prison: 2,424,279Number of Americans under some form of
correctional supervision: 7.3 millionNumber of Americans with a criminal record:
47 million…
By 2011…roughly 65 million Americans have a record
Race Matters, 2004
Race Matters, 2008
Race and Gender Matter
Incarceration Rate/100,000
Today’s Criminal Justice System
Does Mass Incarceration Matter?
Today’s Criminal Justice System
Does Mass Incarceration Matter?YES
The Role of the Social Worker: Possibilities and Responsibilities
Criminal justice social workers serve as frontline staff and administrators in criminal justice settings. The criminal justice system encompasses a broad spectrum of public and private agencies, and settings including (but not limited to):
State and federal correctional facilities City and county jails Federal, state, and city parole and probation agencies Federal, state, and local court systems (including drug courts and mental
health courts) Community-based nonprofit agencies serving ex-offenders or reentrants Faith-based agencies Primary health and behavioral health care providers serving low-income
people, including ex-offendersRoberts & Springer, 2007
Recommendations of the National Association of Social Workers:
Address issues surrounding and leading to disproportionate rates of incarceration for individuals of racial or ethnic minorities, juveniles, women and undocumented individuals.
Increased participation of professional forensic social workers and other mental health providers to assure culturally competent treatment and intervention for the growing population of incarcerated individuals, including mental health and substance abuse services.
Assure safe, humane and equitable treatment for all incarcerated individuals.
Increase access to health care, educational and vocational opportunities to assist incarcerated individuals with transitioning back to their communities
The Role of the Social Worker?
The ethical challenge to social workers is to weigh the needs of the justice system against those of the offender. The social worker should take on the challenge by participating in legislative action to mold social policy to create a balance between the justice system and the offender. Thus, the social worker can help the justice system provide more effective services to the offender, their families, and their communities as professionals by participating in the process of public policy development
Roberts & Springer, 2007
While offenders are under the supervision of the criminal justice system, a unique opportunity exists to intervene in the offender’s lifestyle to reduce future criminal behavior
Case management for criminal justice populations connects offenders with the
specific services and counseling they need to resist substance abuse relapse and to break the cycle of criminal behavior
Kerry Murphy Heale, 1999
Understanding and Undoing the Carceral Crisis
Mass Incarceration…the Big Picture
Understanding and Undoing the Carceral Crisis
Why Carceral Crisis?
Origins
The “Criminalization of Urban Space”
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Issue of Crime
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Issue of Crime
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Issue of Crime
LBJ and the Origins of the War on Crime
Law Enforcement Assistance Act, 1965 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Justice, 1965 District of Columbia Crime Bill, 1967
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, 1968
Mass Incarceration Matters: America’ Cities
Mass Incarceration Matters: America’s Schools
Mass Incarceration Matters: America’s Youth
2007:
6,568 arrests per 100,000 youths aged 10-
17 in United States
Mass Incarceration Matters: America’s Youth
Understanding and Undoing the Carceral Crisis
The Impact of Carceral Crisis
Mass Incarceration Matters: America’s Communities of Color
“Million Dollar Blocks”
Mass Incarceration Matters: the Orphaning of a Generation(s)
2000:1,498,800 children with at least
one parent in state or federal prison
2002:1 in every 45 minor children with
at least one parent in state or federal prison
2008:1,706,600 children with at least
one parent in state or federal prison (majority under age 10)
Mass Incarceration Matters
Jobs and Welfare…
Mass Incarceration Matters
The Hidden Costs of Mass Incarceration
Mass Incarceration Matters
The Undermining of the American Economy (for those who work for a living…)
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
Federal Prisons minor to major players in productive labor and consumer labor market
Example: recycling computers for various companies
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
Increase in work done on site in state prisons by existing state prison industries
Example: making lockers, cleaning chemicals, office furniture, etc.
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
Explosion of brand new contracts between prisons and private companies
Example: Dell, Victoria’s Secret, Starbucks, McDonalds, Eddie Bauer, etc.
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
Brand new age of prison privatization for profit
Example: Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Wackenhut, etc.
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
By the close of the 20th century….
80,000 inmates holding “traditional jobs working for government of private
companies…”
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
“Our core business touches so many things—security, medicine, education, food service, maintenance, technology—that it presents a unique opportunity for any number of vendors to do business with us”
--Irving Lingo, CFO, Corrections Corporation of America
Mass Incarceration Matters: The American Economy
The Bigger Economic Picture
Mass Incarceration Matters
Mass Incarceration and the Distortion of American Democracy
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Distortion of American Democracy
1974:Richardson v. Ramirez
2006:48 out of 50 states have a disfranchisement law on
the books
Rethinking Region
Highest Iowa 13.6
Vermont 12.5 New Jersey 12.4 Connecticut 12.0 Wisconsin 10.6
Lowest Hawaii 1.9 Georgia 3.3
Mississippi 3.5 Alabama 3.5 Arkansas 3.9
States With Highest and Lowest Black-to-White Ratio Incarceration
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Distortion of American Democracy
Democracy?
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Rise of the Right in Postwar America
The U.S. Census….
25.49% census population is from non-voting prison population
Real population: 25,204/21,939 white
Considered a “red” (primarily conservative republican) county.
Supported Reagan 1980 supported George W. Bush in
the previous two presidential elections
Los Angeles County
Lassen County, California
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Rise of the Right in Postwar America
Mass Incarceration Matters: The Rise of the Right in Postwar America
Distorting Democracy and Silencing Communities of Color
So, Mass Incarceration matters….
Ending the Carceral Crisis
Lessons from the Past, Possibilities for the Future
EducationAdvocacy and Agitation
Resistance