After reading this comic, at first I chuckled, then I smiled, but my smile suddenly disappeared because I realized that the comic, or the intent of its creator/writer, was not a joke at all but a tragedy that confronts many American families.  I think it is safe to say that in today’s society many people either have a family member/relative who is in prison, or who has been in prison, or who has had some kind of negative contact with the American Judicial System.

It’s nothing to be proud of but I’ve spent many of my adult years in prison, and the reality of this comic is all so true.  As I reflect and think about many of the men I’ve met in prison, I sometimes hear, “Man, my son is locked up!”  In some cases it can be “sons” are locked up.  How sad but true, and the more I ponder on this issue, I think about the young men in prison now, whose fathers were in prison and are now free, brothers in prison, nephews, uncles and other close relatives, and although not directly included in the comic, what about the growing rate of incarceration of women?  I imagine soon the father, mother, son, daughter and grandchildren may all be in prison.

This comic is conveying a tragedy.  A tragedy about the soaring rate of incarceration in America.  Anyone who reads this article and agrees that the families who are most affected by incarceration are dysfunctional, then you have to know that prisons are only a reflection of society.  Prison places a human face on the ills of a society that the society has failed to address.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) published a report in August 2003 tracking the prevalence of imprisonment in the U.S. from 1974 to 2001.  The report stated that one of every fifteen persons born in the year 2001 would be incarcerated at some point in their lives.  The report also found that at the end of 2001, there were 1,319,000 adults confined in state or federal prison and approximately 4,299,000 living former prisoners.   That is about one in thirty-seven living U.S. adults, either who were serving time or had served time in prison.  Analyzing current incarceration rates, assuming they do not change the BJS found that 6.6% (1 in 15) of all persons born in 2001 would be incarcerated as adults.

The greatest disparity seen in incarceration continues to be among minorities, especially black males. In 2001, about 16.6% of adult black makes were current or former state or federal prisoners.  This rate was more than double the rate for Hispanic males (7.7%) and more than six time the rate for white males (2.6%).  Although female numbers and rates were significantly lower, the black-Hispanic-white rate disparity continued.  In 2001, a black male had a 32.2% (1 in 3) lifetime chance of going to prison, while a black female had a 5.6% (1 in 19) lifetime chance of incarceration.  Moreover, from 1974 to 2001, the lifetime chance for a black female going to prison increased more rapidly than the lifetime imprisonment chance for white males.

The rising rate of incarceration can be traced to the socio-economic conditions of society.  I am not saying that no one should bear any level of responsibility or accountability, however we now live in a society which prefers a “lock’em up,” approach, instead of providing better childcare and healthcare services, and demanding accountability within those agencies in charge of providing those services, and more is needed to train and educate the poor and unskilled citizens.

A large percentage of the incarcerated are drug and alcohol abusers.  There needs to be in place adequate programs to address these problems.  Draconian sentencing laws, specifically mandatory minimums, have also increased incarceration rates.  This is especially true in communities of color in urban areas.  The disproportionate impact is largely due to the stiffer penalties for drugs in urban areas, than in suburban and rural areas.

There needs to be more of the pro-active movement and conscious effort in our communities to combat the root causes that create the conditions for crime.  We also have to educate our youth on the consequences of crime.  There is no prestige in coming to prison.  Incarceration is not a part of life, nor is it a way of life, but is a definite consequence which stems from committing crime, because eventually you will get caught!

We must develop a restorative method.  Being restorative is about making things right in our communities by having individual members, community agencies, community elected officials, schools, organizations, religious leaders, and businesses coming together in order to establish preventive and responsive programs to bridge gaps between people and organizations and strengthen community bonds.  Crime hurts, and communities have the right to feel safe and secure, but prisons cannot be and are not the only solution.  In combining the energy and resources of any community in a pro-active way, the entire family remains in the community, being a part of the community.

Duminsani Bankoke
202278/244536B
Southwoods State Prison
215 Burlington Road
Bridgeton, NJ 08302