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African Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white Americans, according to a recent report.
The report highlights how the criminal justice system is profoundly affected by police biases, outdated judicial precedents, and pervasive racial disparities that directly harm Black communities.
It provides a compilation of facts and figures related to policing, the criminal justice system, incarceration, and more.
As of August 17, 2024, 38.8% of inmates in the federal prison system were Black, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This is compared to 13% of the general U.S. population that is Black.
Black individuals are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white people, and Black women are incarcerated at twice the rate of white women.
Regarding law enforcement, the NAACP report noted that a Black person is five times more likely to be stopped without just cause than a white person, while a Black man is twice as likely to be stopped without just cause than a Black woman. Additionally, 65% of Black adults have reported feeling targeted because of their race. Similarly, approximately 35% of Latino and Asian adults have felt targeted because of their race.
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The report also sheds light on police brutality, revealing that 1,025 people have been shot and killed in the past year. Tragically, only a few officers are convicted of lesser crimes like manslaughter or negligent homicide. Since 2005, 98 non-federal law enforcement officers have been arrested in connection with fatal, on-duty shootings. Of these, only three officers have been convicted of murder with their convictions upheld.
Also, 222 officers were acquitted in jury trials, and nine were acquitted in bench trials decided by a judge. Ten cases were dismissed by a judge or prosecutor, and in one instance, a grand jury returned no true bill. Currently, 21 non-federal law enforcement officers have pending criminal cases for fatal shootings.
The report also revealed that 84% of Black adults believe that white people are treated better than Black people by the police, a sentiment shared by 63% of adults in a 2019 study on police relations.
About 87% of Black adults express that the U.S. criminal justice system is unjust toward Black people, a view echoed by 61% of white adults.
The consequences of police brutality extend beyond immediate physical harm; it also affects the mental health of Black Americans. The report indicates that police killings of unarmed Black Americans are responsible for more than 50 million additional days of poor mental health per year among Black Americans. This mental health burden is comparable to that associated with diabetes, a disease that affects 1 in 5 Black Americans.
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Incarceration also has other severe effects, ranging from the cost of millions of taxpayers’ dollars each year to an increase in HIV infections, COVID-19, and other infectious diseases, which further strain state resources.
Have you experienced police brutality or been wrongly accused because of your race? Share your story in the comments section.
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