Criminal Justice and the Planner s Role

Transcription

1 Criminal Justice and the Planner s Role Beth Altshuler Raimi + Associates April 18, 2015 American Planning Association Seattle, WA

2 2 Public Health Social Sustainability & Climate Change Equity Community Planning

3 3 Healthy Community Planning & SAFETY I don t care about more street trees and walking to the store if there are still drug dealers and gangs on my corner. I m scarred I ll get shot! Encouraging walkability needs to consider context Who lives there? Perceived v. actual safety?

4 Planners Community Safety Toolbox 4 Neighborhood watch / community policing Crime Prevention though Environmental Design Liquor store concentration Broken windows / Eyes on the Street

5 5 Mass Incarceration in the US

6 Incarceration Rates by Country 6 The US = 4.6% of the world population, but has 22% of all incarcerated people globally.

7 Incarcerated Persons per 100,000 70% 60% Racial Composition of the U.S., 2010 (US Census) 63.7% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 16.3% 12.2% 0% White Latino Black 2500 US Incarceration Rates by Race / Ethnicity, White Latino Black

8 64% of incarcerated have no GED or High School diploma Most inmates (71%) are serving tme for non-violent offences 8

9 Concentration in Neighborhoods 9 In some cities more than half of all young adult black men are currently under the correctional control prison, jail, probation, or parole One in three Black men born in 2001 will be incarcerated during their lifetime. Michelle Alexander. The New Jim Crow

10 Size of the problem 10 Today a total of 7.3 million individuals are under the control of the U.S. criminal justice system: 2.3 million prisoners behind bars, 800,000 parolees, 4.2 million people on probation If this population had their own city, it would be the second largest in the country. Ernest Drucker. Find A Plague of Prisons: The Epidemiology of Mass Incarceration in America, 2013.

11 11 Who s impacted by the criminal justice system and violence? Perpetrators of Crime Victims of Crime Families of Perpetrators and Victims Witness of Crime Residents of High Crime Areas People Who Hear About Crime (via friends or media)

12 Cycle of Neighborhood Poverty 12 High Concentrations of Formally Incarcerated High Poverty Neighborhood Destabilized Neighborhood and Families Lack of Jobs, Parks, Quality Schools, etc. Crime & Incarceration

13 13 Why should planners care about criminal justice? Health Economic Social Ethical

14 Health 14 Homicide is the #1 cause of death for black males yrs old (CDC, 2011)

15 15 Health impacts of neighborhood violence and incarceration Victims and perpetrators of community violence Death Bodily Injury Psychosocial Impacts Families of those involved in violence crime experience Loss of income Loss of social support due to death or injury of a loved one Residents of high incarceration neighborhoods Stress Infectious diseases Generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder

16 Economic 16 Economic

17 17 50% of released prisoners are rearrested within 1 year; 77% within 5 years.

18 18 Incarceration and law enforcement competes with state and municipal funds that could build community resiliency parks, schools, universities, health care, housing, public assistance

19 Social 19 Social

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23 Social 23 More than 2/3 of incarcerated woman and half of men are parents of children under 18. Children of formally incarcerated parents likely in end up behind bars

24 Ethical 24 The growth in the U.S. prison population has had a major impact on families, communities, and state budgets. Its impacts have been most profound, however, among people of color and within poor, disinvested neighborhoods. For the most disinvested neighborhoods, it is not possible to talk about building community, economically or socially, without addressing both the conditions and policies leading to incarceration and the programs and strategies developed to enable ex-offenders to successfully return to their communities. Reentry: Helping former prisoners return to communities by Annie E Casey Foundation.

25 25 Coming Home Challenges of Re-Entry

26 26 The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Michelle Alexander s Thesis: Mass incarceration is a way to create a legally discriminatory racial caste system against black and brown Americans without talking about race. Formally incarcerated people are denied: the right to vote; the right to serve on juries; and the right to be free of legal discrimination in employment, housing, access to education, and public benefits.

27 Jobs: Ban the Box 27 Unemployment is a strong predictor of recidivism BUT Most public and private job applications ask about conviction history 45 cities and counties and 7 states have Banned the Box This almost guarantees the rejection 6 states BAN employment for reentry population Newark, NJ s Ban the Box legislation prohibits discrimination based on conviction history in public and private employment as well as housing

28 Housing 28 Formally incarcerated are not a protected class under fair housing laws Most Public Housing Authorities ban former convicted felons to live with their families leaving them homeless. NYC, LA County, and Chicago have pilot programs in public housing Supportive group housing faces strong NIMBYism

29 Homelessness 29 10% of California s parolees are homeless (30-50% in large urban areas) No Sit Lie laws criminalize having nowhere to go CA Jessica s law (2006) Prohibits sex offenders from living within ½ mile of a park or school CA supreme court found law unconstitutional this year

30 School to Prison Pipeline 30 Harsher school climate Zero-tolerance programs (Schools suspending and expelling students for minor offenses) School Resource Officers Metal detectors Juvenile justice youth are 38 times more likely to be incarcerated as an adult Convicted felons are not eligible for college financial aid

31 Community Engagement 31 In 20 states felons permanently loose the right to vote 30 states exclude felons from Jury Service for life Over 6% of the adult population is excluded, including about 30% of black men Creation of disenfranchisement and mistrust of policy and government

32 32 Role of Planners

33 33 Know your Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Exchange data with law enforcement and jail Document incarcerated and formally incarcerated data in existing conditions reports THEY ARE A VULNERABLE POPULATION Invite County Probation, judges, law enforcement, and formally incarcerated to participate in community planning processes Ensure sensitivity around socioeconomic and physical impacts of jail expansion projects

34 ID policies that create barriers for ex-cons and their families Expand $ for resilience factors Rewrite local policies Advocate for policy change at the county and state level Shift police department away from mass arrests Mental health/substance abuse services Quality schools Job training Youth programs Parks Reentry centers Be an advocate for racial equity and anti-poverty programs 34

35 Discussion Questions for Planners 35 How can we combat NIMBYism toward the reentry population? What are the challenges in the planning profession do to addressing racial equity? How do you see violence and incarnation impacting the communities you work in?

36 36 Beth Altshuler, MCP MPH CPH Epidemiologist & Urban Planner