United States has 5% of the population but incarcerates 25% of the world’s prisoners. 2.3Million people are incarcerated in the United States.
13th Amendment abolished slavery but left in the exception that if you are a “criminal” you can still be a slave. The documentary “13” goes into great detail here.
Once you have committed a felony you can no longer vote.
One in three Black men will go to prison compared to one in seventeen White men.
Gary Potter, Professor at Eastern Kentucky University
Started with Slave patrols – evolved into Police. Created an atmosphere of terror that killed and humiliated black people.
1900’s policing was the Police working with the KKK that continued that trend.
The laws behind Redlining led to the knowledge of where blacks lived and led to over policing in those areas.
Over Policed for minor infractions.
Blacks are imprisoned five times more likely than whites.
Blacks are three times more likely to be killed by police than whites.
Part of training should include the racial history of policing.
More Policing activities should be moved to Social worker
Today, there are over 800,000 police in the United States.
There are 700,000 social workers in all categories with only 125,000 in mental health.
Can we look to reallocate resources so Police don’t have to respond to everything?
Goal should be to reduce our addiction to an economy of punishment and lean into an economy of care.
