Community Response to Race and Criminal Justice

Community Response to Race and Criminal Justice

Community Response

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), in Decatur, GA was chosen for this assignment. The department is responsible for serving the state's youth offenders up until the age of twenty-one. The organization's mission as stated on their web page is: "Our Mission is to protect and serve the citizens of Georgia by holding young offenders accountable for their actions through the delivery of services and sanctions in appropriate settings and by supporting youth in their communities to become productive and law-abiding citizens" (http://www.djj.state.ga.us/AboutUs/AboutUsOverview.shtml). Cathy Dravis, the Juvenile Program Manager was interviewed. Below is a summary.

When asked how they view the issue of the disproportionate amount of African-American males arrested for drug distribution vs. Caucasian and Hispanic males, the response was that the person's environment that they grew up in plays a large role in shaping their adult lives. Many African-American males grow up in single parent homes where there is no male authority figure present. Poverty also plays a role in the lives of these young males. The images they see in music videos and in the media sell the idea of making quick money. Distributing drugs is probably the fastest way they can think of to make money.

The interviewee discussed how race and ethnicity fit into the picture stating that racial profiling could possibly play a part in African-American males being arrested and convicted of these kinds of crimes over other races. If this group is the one that is constantly being watched, then they will be the ones with the highest amount of arrests and convictions. This does not mean that Caucasians and Hispanics are not committing the same or similar crimes. The crime rates could be just as high as or even higher than in the African-American community. However, if they are not being watched as closely as the African-Americans, it stands to reason that they will not be arrested as much as their counterparts. According to Ryberg, many in law enforcement use racial profiling to target individuals who they feel are more likely to be criminals and that these individuals may suffer more severe punishment than someone who commits the same crime and is of a different race (2011).

Regarding the impact that this issue has on the community, the interviewee feels that it is having a tremendous impact on the African-American community because too many of its young men are being incarcerated without being given the opportunity to be rehabilitated. These young men need to be able to see examples of men who were able to become successful and break free from their environment through education and by making the right choices. There is a severe shortage of positive male role models in this community who can mentor these men and guide them down a path that is free from any type of illegal activity and to where they can be productive members of not only their community, but society as well.

The DJJ not only makes the offenders accountable for the crime they have committed. The agency works hard to rehabilitate individuals through various programs. Some of the programs the agency offers to reintroduce offenders back into society as productive citizens are their vocational and work readiness program, behavioral health services, and educational services to name a few. It is important for offenders to understand that their behavior is inappropriate, but it is even more important for them to feel that they have something or someone that will not just scold and punish them for their actions. They need to know that the choices they make (good or bad) will follow them throughout their lives. The intent of the programs is to assist them in making the best choices possible.

The programs have been very effective in rehabilitating offenders. What needs to be taken into account is the environment that some of these individuals grow up in. We cannot always assume that everyone comes from a stable household. The department takes these things into consideration and the objective is not to judge, but to deal with each and every situation individually and from a place of empathy. If we incarcerate the offenders and release them back into society without any type of help and guidance, we can expect that they will become repeat offenders. But, if we give them the proper tools and information to reintegrate back into society our hope and belief is that they will be successful.

Of concern is that once most of the offenders have been made accountable and have taken the necessary measures to reintegrate successfully back into society, they often go back to the same environment that was a major factor in their prior delinquent behavior. The juvenile justice system is at a disadvantage because most offenders go back to an environment that is economically disadvantaged and this can encourage repeat behavior (Grunwald et al., 2010).

One of the biggest challenges this issue faces is prevention. If we can prevent the reasons for the criminal activity to begin with then juvenile offenses would not be an issue. To do this we have to address the underlying causes. The two causes were already identified as being their environment and poverty. There is one recommendation that could possibly be a solution to both of these factors and that is education. This may sound simple but if people from a low socio economic status are given the same opportunities to advance in life, the rate of juvenile offenses would drop dramatically. Few people realize that the use and distribution of drugs have very little to do with the drugs themselves. It is more about there being very little or sustainable jobs in low income neighborhoods because many in these communities cannot read past an eighth grade level (Western, 2010).