Posted on 11/29/2006 7:59:41 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - A record 7 million people or one in every 32 American adults were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2,193,798 were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year.
Even though data show more prison releases, the report said, admissions still exceed releases. More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005.
Men still far outnumber women in prisons and jails, but the female population is growing faster. Over the past year, the population females in state or federal prison increased 2.6 percent while the number of male inmates rose 1.9 percent. By year's end, 7 percent of all inmates were women.
"Today's figures fail to capture incarceration's impact on the thousands of children left behind by mothers in prison," Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group supporting criminal justice reform, said in a statement. "Misguided policies that create harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenses are disproportionately responsible for the increasing rates of women in prisons and jails."
From 1995 until 2003, inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth.
Racial disparities among prisoners persist. In the 25-29 age group, 8.1 percent about one in every 13 of black men are incarcerated, compared with 2.6 percent of Hispanic men and 1.1 percent of white men. And it's not much different among women. By the end of 2005, black women were more than twice as likely as Hispanics and over three times as white women to be in prison.
Certain states saw more significant changes in prison population. In South Dakota, the number of inmates increased 11 percent over the past year, more than any other state. Montana and Kentucky were next in line with increases of 10.4 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. Georgia had the biggest decrease, losing 4.6 percent, followed by Maryland with a 2.4 percent decrease and Louisiana with a 2.3 percent drop.
How many of these 7M are Vicente's?
Thats pretty nice from what I was in in my past ..lol
There are homeless people that would kill for a cell like that to sleep in on a cold night. ;-) (just kidding)
That is indeed true. Nevertheless the kids are innocent and not responsible for the failures of their families. Therefore they need help if their own people are unwilling or unable to do so. Although I hate gouvernment and state messing in our lives, I have to say that this is the most important institution that has abillities to ease this social problem.
It's the kids who don't get family support that are in trouble. Public school is no substitute for a family with a loving married mother and father.
In many cases it has to be a substitute since no loving mother or father are existing. It is better to help in a unorthodox way than to ignore the problem. Personally I think we even have a Christian obligation to do so (BTW - we Europeans have some simular problems although our situation is different.)
Disagree. If more kids GOT that sort of time and attention and commitment from their parents, our prisons would be almost empty.
Homeschooling is (if it is not motivated by religious fundamentalism) a elitist experiment of a few families who have the background and the means to do so. We all know that it can be no solution for kids that are growing up in the gutter.
Yes..you are correct. I know of quite a few homeless who in the winter would break storefront windows just to get locked up and out of the cold..and thats just in my little town in IL...Im sure it happens elswhere tho
Maybe not the system but its people. The attitude of a good teacher is usually adopted in parts by his pupils. I learned in many schools and univercities and often observed this phenomenon. Such effects can help kids with a problematic background in a extraordinary way. They can adopt normal life into the mess they are living in. That is not bad to me.
Personally I think that the vicious circle of hopelessness has to be broken to give the kids a chance. They are innocent and I am convinced that they have a right on a chance. If this happens with public schools it is fine with me, if it happens somewhere else it is also fine. The destination is important but not the way.
Nevertheless I see simply the need to help those kids.
Sounds like a nice a idea, can't argue with it. How would you do it?
I know of quite a few homeless who in the winter would break storefront windows just to get locked up and out of the cold..
Most of the homeless (not all) that I encounter are there by choice. They have the opportunities for jobs, and support but choose to be homeless. So, are you going to hold them accountable for their actions or say "you poor thing, it's not your fault."
AB-I'm curious. Here is a real situation that I encountered in one town that I lived in.
The scenario.
Many of the parents were on public assistance. They made absolutely no effort to encourage their children to get an education and be productive, or even at a minimum, show up at school. One teacher called 42 parents for her third grade class to plead with them to have their children do their homework and show up for class. 39 of those parents told her to piss off. I saw her after those calls, she was in tears, tears of frustration and anger that she couldn't do more. Their families in many cases were intact, they were just human leeches-content to live off the labor of others and teaching their children to do the same.
The school did their best, but they couldn't overcome the horrendous parenting-the majority of the kids (sadly) had carbon copies of their parent's attitudes.
What specific steps would you take to address this situation?
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