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May 14, 2009
Black prison population in Iowa could grow--now 2% of population and 24 % of prisoners
Black prison population in Iowa could grow
By MIKE GLOVER | Associated Press Writer
May 14, 2009
Chicago Tribune
DES MOINES, Iowa - Blacks continue to be incarcerated in Iowa prisons at a number far out of proporation to their overall population in the state, and that disparity is expected to grow over the next 10 years, state prison officials were told Wednesday.
The state began to study the racial breakdown of prison inmates under former Gov. Tom Vilsack, and that initial study found that 24 percent of the state's prison beds are occupied by blacks who make up roughly 2 percent of the population.
The Iowa Board of Corrections was told that those numbers remain unchanged as of last year but are expected to grow.
"The projections are that the percent of African-Americans in prison will slightly increase over the next 10 years," said Lettie Prell, research director for the Iowa Department of Corrections. She said tougher penalties for crimes like robbery will likely lead to the increase.
Prell also said there is a disparity in sentencing practices when sentences are measured by race.
She said 48.3 percent of blacks convicted of serious drug charges receive prison time, compared to 36.5 percent of whites. That same disparity is seen throughout the range of felony drug cases.
Looking at the correctional population as a whole, just over 20 percent of whites in the corrections system are in prison or confined in community facilities, while nearly 40 percent of blacks in the corrections system are in prison or confined in community facilities.
"On the whole, incarceration rates for African-Americans is higher than for whites for the various types of crimes," Prell said.
Prell said studies have shown a broad array of social and economic forces account for the disparity in prison population.
"They go way beyond the scope of corrections itself," she said.
Prell said corrections officials have launched pilot projects in Waterloo and Des Moines that begin before an inmate is released and are designed to closely supervise inmates and offer a variety of counseling programs. Early results are encouraging, though a tight state budget has reduced available funding for those efforts, she said.
"We're doing what we can to grow those initiatives," Prell said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-blacks-prisons,0,4971654.story
Posted by lois at May 14, 2009 09:18 AM