Prison Industrial Complex Effects on People of Color

Corporations across the US have taken advantage of several societal characteristic to profit from the issue of mass incarceration. In this paper, an overview of the prison industrial complex and its impacts on communities of color has been assessed. The relationship between mass incarceration and prison industrial complex has also been established and assessed. Origin of Mass Incarceration The United States has the highest rates of incarceration in the entire world. The country is home to 5% of the entire world’s population but houses 25% of the world’s prisoners (Luxe). 3) The war on drugs was orchestrated to ensure that more African American people were put in jail. The war on drugs, during President Reagans era, was more intense and expanded to the Latino community.

Cocaine was perceived to be made, sold and used by Latino and African American communities. Harsher punishments were applied to those that were arrested for possession of ‘crack’ (Luxe). The war on drugs in this era resulted in overrepresentation of African American people as criminals on TV stations. This resulted in an increase in the number of people who were incarcerated. Prisons were, consequently, privatized which resulted in longer sentences for prisoners and privatization of parole. Organizations like Securus Technologies and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) had financial interests in the imprisonment of people. Other companies saw the increase in the prison population as a business (Greene 99). Some began supplying food, offering telephone services and relied on prison labor for their own gain.

Literature Review Alexander, in her Jan 2011 article, analyzes how people of color are turned into second-class citizens by criminal laws in the United States. In the article, she points out issues such as racial profiling, police brutality and misdemeanors contribute to societal challenges for African American people. Special interest groups, which include companies, have played a significant role in the mass incarceration of people of color in the US (Alexander). Alexander further states that 70% of prisoners who are people of color are usually readmitted to prison after less than three years as they are incapable of coping with life outside prison. Different prison programs that the inmates are subjected to do little to help them change and become better citizens. In their analysis, they found out that race and gender played an important role in the making of incarceration decisions by key stakeholders (Davis and Cassandra 15).

Women from minority groups across the US had a higher probability of being incarcerated for certain crimes than the white women (17). Women of color were also given harsher punishments for misdemeanors as opposed to white women. Private companies and individuals with stakes in the US penal system have also come up with decisions through legislation by politician-friends to decide the fate of most women. Hartnett in, his book, combines a series of essays and articles that focus on what can be done to challenge prison-industrial complex. Companies and organizations rely on US prisons for lots of benefits. This, according to Mears and Joshua, has resulted in prisons becoming a place of business for most of the organizations (132). The high number of US incarcerations is attributed to the fact that few inmates are set free while more are admitted in precincts.

The US penal system completely disregards the importance it has in creating a culture of free crime by manufacturing crime through misdemeanors that result in people being punished unfairly. Sehested, in her September 2007 magazine article, details her work as a chaplain at a prison in the US. After the ‘war on drugs and crime’ was declared in the 1970s, there was a boom in the number of people going behind bars. Prison populations multiplied as tougher laws and sentences were handed to those who were arrested (Mears & Joshua 132). This was all done by the government who saw the ‘need’ to clean the streets from criminals. Mass Incarceration in the US began in the 1970s when thousands of people were arrested for drug-related crimes.

To ensure that more prisoners were accommodated and served their time, private companies were tasked with coming up with prisons that could be run like typical corporations or institutions. Prisons are often paid by these corporations to provide them with people who will help produce their products at much lower costs (Davis and Cassandra 15). This drives government and people with private interests to fill up prisons to financially gain from the opportunities that arise. Moreover, prisons have been known to take advantage of the corrections programs to get prisoners to work (Davis and Cassandra 17). It is common to see towns or municipalities using prisoners as cleaners rather than hiring people to do the work, or, prison management insisting that prisoners learn about carpentry or plumbing and then using those who demonstrate the best skills to do work for corporations with special interests (Greene 99).

When these prisoners get out of jail, they always find it difficult trying to apply and get jobs in their areas of expertise; simply because they are ex-convicts (Davis 6). Effects of Prison Industrial Complex on People of Color African Americans and Latinos have been the biggest target and victim of mass incarceration in the US. Since the 1970s, they have been described as criminals and drug dealers by law enforcement and politicians. Overlapping government interests and those from private institutions require that people fill prisons (Lochner 449). A culture of ‘crime’ has been created around people of color. It’s common to see a police officer arrest a black person without any criminal activity being reported. People of color need to be allowed to live without threats of incarcerations for misdemeanors.

New regulations are needed to reverse systemic processes that are meant to profit people at the expense of the well-being of minority communities. Crimes need to be redefined to eliminate the possibility of law enforcement arresting people for crimes that are inexistent in nature. Issues like putting released prisoners on longer probation periods need to be addressed in order to reduce or reverse this trend. Private prisons must also be eliminated from the US. Prison Industrial Complex has severe societal impacts on communities of color across the US and a shift in power may help reverse the trend. Works Cited Alexander, Michelle. “The New Jim Crow: How Mass Incarceration Turns People of Color into Permanent Second-Class Citizens. ” The American Prospect, 1 Jan.