Getting Out of Jail Free?
Gina Telega, M.S. in Criminology & Criminal Justice (UM-Dearborn '20) The criminalization of poverty has a long and complicated history in the United States, however, the 1970’s marked a new era in this saga. “Tough on crime” approaches, such as “three strikes” and other mandatory sentencing policies gained popularity as rehabilitative approaches to offending fell out of favor. The rhetoric and policies of the “war on drugs” solidified the connection between minorities, drugs, and crime. Over-policing low-income communities of color resulted in criminal records and costly fines for the already disadvantaged. During this time, criminal justice costs were shifted to those drawing on criminal justice services—the arrestee, the defendant, the inmate, the probationer, and parolee—regardless of their ability to pay. Criminal fines and fees, including court fees, were raised. Although the Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that individuals could not be incarcerated for their debts unless the act of not paying is “willful,” those in poverty continue to be jailed when unable to afford criminal fines, fees, and associated costs. Such recent criminalization of poverty can be understood through the lens of Focal Concerns. While structural historical explanations of the criminalization of poverty make significant contributions to our understandings of this phenomenon, they fail to account for individual and organizational level variations in criminal justice policy and practice across the United States. Focal Concerns theory allows for an integrated approach, framing criminal justice decision making as the result of both legal and extra-legal factors. Indeed, legal factors like blameworthiness of the defendant and protection of the community appear to have the most influence on the decisions of police, prosecutors, judges, and other criminal justice actors decisions. However, extralegal factors—such as age, class, and race—also play a role in criminal justice decision making. Faced with uncertainty, criminal justice actors are apt to adopt a “perceptual shorthand” to facilitate decision making, relying on stereotypes—such as viewing low-income individuals as inherently criminal. In this way, poverty functions as a “perceptual shorthand” for criminality, focusing criminal justice actors’ gaze and, thus, the exertion of state control, on the American poor. Criminal justice reform is needed to address the criminalization of poverty. For example, many defendants are incarcerated before being convicted of a crime simply because they cannot afford bail. The current bail system sidesteps the notion that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty, a notion upon which are criminal justice system is organized. Rather, defendants are only deemed “innocent enough” to await trial in the community if they can afford to do so. Dismantling the cash bail system would help alleviate injustice within criminal justice system. Criminal justice reforms, however, will not reduce implicit bias within society. The narratives, stereotypes, and tropes regarding the assumed criminality of low-income individuals are built into American society. Poverty is often perceived of as being indicative of one’s character rather than viewed as a sign of systematic oppression. The criminalization of poverty, much like every other facet of criminal justice reform, will never have a “one-size-fits-all” solution. Still, Focal Concerns theory presents a unique framework through which to understand the inner workings of the criminal justice system that could bring us one step closer to reducing injustice in the United States. References: 1. Bernard, T., & Engel, R. S. (2001). Conceptualizing Criminal Justice Theory. Justice Quarterly, 18(1), 1–30. https://doi:10.1080/07418820100094801 2. Chambliss, W. J. (1964). A Sociological Analysis of the Law of Vagrancy. Social Problems, 12(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.1964.12.1.03a00070 3. Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432 (1895). 4. Dolan, K., & Carr, J. (2015). The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty. Institute for Policy Studies. 5. Edelman, P. (2019). The Criminalization of Poverty and the People Who Fight Back. Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, 26(2), 213–226. 6. Gunja, F. (2003, May). Race & the War on Drugs. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/other/race-war-drugs. 7. Hagan, J. (1989). Why Is There So Little Criminal Justice Theory? Neglected Macro- and Micro-Level Links Between Organization and Power. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 26(2), 116–135. https://doi:10.1177/0022427889026002002 8. Harris, A. (2009). Attributions and Institutional Processing: How Focal Concerns Guide Decision making in the Juvenile Court. Race and Social Problems, 1(4), 243–256. https://doi:10.1007/s12552-009-9020-4 9. Higgins, G. E., Vito, G. F., & Grossi, E. L. (2012). The Impact of Race on the Police Decision to Search During a Traffic Stop: A Focal Concerns theory Perspective. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28(2), 166–183. https:// doi:10.1177/1043986211425725 10. Morrow, W. J., Dario, L. M., & Rodriguez, N. (2015). Examining the Prevalence of a ‘Youth Discount’ in the Juvenile Justice System. Journal of Crime & Justice, 38(4), 473–490. https:// doi:10.1080/0735648X.2014.912144 11. Raphling, J. (2019, September 12). Interview: How Policing in One US City Hurts Black and Poor Communities. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/12/interview-how-policing-one-us-city-hurts-black-and-poor-communities. 12. Stolper, H. (2019, January 6). New Neighbors and the Over-Policing of Communities of Color. New Neighbors and the Over-Policing of Communities of Color | Community Service Society of New York. https://www.cssny.org/news/entry/New-Neighbors. 13. Vito, A. G., Higgins, G. E., Woodward Griffin, V., & Grossi, E. L. (2019). Consent searches: Understanding the role of race and what occurs during the traffic stop. Policing: An International Journal, 42(4), 611–623. https://doi:10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2018-0162
3 Comments
When one door closes, a window opens. Let's say farewell to Crimmigration: Student Musings on the Intersections of Immigration and Crime and say hello to the new CrimBytes student blog! This blog highlights student op eds and independent research on hot topics in crime and justice. Stay tuned!
|
Details
About
CrimBytes is a space for student musings on crime, media, and culture. ArchivesCategories |