(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s no secret that black people, particularly males, are arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned at a disproportionately elevated rate. There are many different reasons why this trend has been occurring in the United States for hundreds of years, but nobody seems to have the solution.
One reason that a constant flow of black men continue to enter the punishment and rehabilitation portion of the criminal justice system is recidivism. As soon as a black male inmate is released from prison, there is one or more awaiting sentencing on standby. By having more black professionals working to complete an online criminal justice masters degree, an increasing number of positions in corrections, probation and the courts can be filled by those with a common interest. With more black men and women working in the criminal justice field, there would be less of a disparity between those in the prison rather than the infrastructure.
Pursue More Criminal Justice Educational Opportunities
You can’t achieve a goal of effectively changing the demographics of an entire industry without having a plan to educate each future job seeker. People will need to think outside of the box and remain flexible in order to complete schooling. Part time enrollment, lighter course loads and attending summer and winter sessions are options that young people with jobs, single fathers, and black professionals can choose when attempting to fit masters criminal justice degrees onto their plates. There has to be talk of the different schools, their respective programs and the options for future students to receive tuition assistance when they enroll. In order to entice more people from the black community to get involved in criminal justice, complete information has to be brought forth.
Advocate Justice, Education and Advancement for Inmates
The Center for American Progress reports that approximately one in every three black men in the US will eventually be incarcerated. While there are youth intervention programs for the purpose of preventing more black males from being imprisoned, there has to be just as much effort to reach out to those who have recently been released from incarceration. These former inmates are going to need skills, housing, education and counseling resources in order to fight recidivism. No one is repeatedly incarcerated because it’s enjoyable, but if a convict has nowhere to go and no reasonable job prospects, criminal activity is much more likely.
Increase Community Outreach Action
If you were to be born in an inner city environment, grown up in a broken household and only had poor educational resources, would you honestly think that could ever qualify for a job in the criminal justice field? Sending professionals into schools to educate children about criminal justice and the types of degree programs that the youth can enroll in locally or online would be a way to open the door to a plethora of aspiring kids who are actively trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. They need to have a firm understanding of the way each part of the criminal justice system works together, and how their presence can make a difference.
Black men who become incarcerated at some point have to have opportunities if they are never to return. Job applicants that have past felony convictions are almost totally excluded from many industries. Educating and encouraging those with criminal records can help to lower recidivism rates over time.
Staff Writer; Ronald Jackson