Policies aimed at reducing racial inequality within the criminal justice system make communities safer and contribute to the overall reduction in correctional populations, according to Vanguard.
A report entitled, “Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice: Science, Practice and Policy,” from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, examined how racial inequality is perpetuated within the criminal justice system.
The committee analyzed data on crime, racial disparities in criminal justice interactions, and evidence-based policies. Recommendations were provided to reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
The report concluded that there is no need for policymakers to decide between public safety and racial equity.
“…[B]ans on unconstitutional incarceration and policing, evaluating sentencing reform for drug offenses, and focusing on bail reform actually result in less needed supervision in community,” the committee said.
The criminal legal process still exhibits racial and ethnic disparities in arrests, pre-trial detention, sentencing, and incarceration, according to the committee. Recent trends indicate a decline in racial disparities in carceral settings during a period of reduction in the overall correctional population from 2008 to 2020.
However, the report noted that, regardless of the overall progress, certain jurisdictions still have large racial disparities. The committee’s first point was that those in power ought to coordinate reforms across local, state and federal levels of the criminal justice system. Policymakers should increase accountability, public participation, and evaluation of community impact on those most directly affected by the policies, the report said.
To improve the criminal justice system, policymakers need to acknowledge “that every community is different — a band-aid approach of simply copying the approach of another will not work in the same way,” the article’s author, Audrey Sawyer, wrote.
The committee recommended reducing police stops and searches, limiting prison admissions and only using jail detentions for those who pose an immediate or serious risk to society.
They also suggested reducing “police response to non-violent behavior and mental health incidents,” eliminating cash bail, and “invest[ing] in alternative interventions to reduce violence (such as community relations improvement and coordination with non-criminal justice agencies),” Sawyer wrote.
