Numbers offer objective truths. They offer unalterable facts that allows
individuals to make unbiased decisions. They are used in everything from
rating television popularity to deciding our national leader. But what
happens when statistics are missing from crucial data on criminal justice
systems? Without concrete numbers, it is difficult to decipher current
trends of our prison systems. The statistical gaps lie in many different
aspects of the judicial system.
The primary gap occurs in the racial makeup of those incarcerated in the
United States prison system. Although there is data on how many men and
women are imprisoned, there is no clear or systematic way of garnering
this information. Sociology professor Bruce Western further articulates
this discrepancy. He observes that there are an average of 65 million
Americans who have a criminal record; that is approximately 25% of the
American population. However, of this number, we do not know specific
demographics or racial makeup of the prisoners.
To further highlight the missing statistics in the criminal justice system,
researchers note scarce information on how many men and women are sent
to solitary confinement. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, there
is an average of 80,000 inmates who are locked in solitary confinement
at any given time in the U.S. This statistic has been present for the
past few years. The problem here, however, is that we do not know much
else outside of the number.
The 80,000 number gives us an insight in quantity, but lacks other considerations.
It does not show us any trends in the number confined over the years.
This number does not show us if there are more or less inmates who are
confined over the years.
Other information this number lacks include:
- Racial, age, and gender breakdown of those locked
- Cause and reason for solitary confinement
- How the number differs from state to state
Given how damaging and traumatizing solitary confinement can be, with the
ability to literally drive people mad, it seems important to know this
information.
The other area that seems to lack concrete, categorized statistics is the
number of non-sexual assaults that take place in prison. Because of the
Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2002, prisons are required to report the
number of sexual assaults that occur every year. In contrast, the number
of non-sexual attacks seem to be lacking. This complicates analysis and
sociological studies because it does not take into consideration other
forms of violence that occurs behind bars, especially incidents instigated
by prison staff.
Researchers such as Marie Gottschalk, a professor of political science
at the University of Pennsylvania, articulates the problems of missing
data that goes unanalyzed. By not collecting national statistics about
things such as lengths and degrees of isolation on bears, the conduct
of inmates, the types of educational programs available, etc., it makes
it difficult to decipher the trying prison experience. Without that information,
how can we bring reform to a flawed system?
Gottschalk states,
[If] we’re just collecting inmate-on-inmate data, or just rapes and
sexual assaults between inmates, it kind of feeds into those stereotypes,
and it ignores the huge amount of violence that’s actually done
by staff inside of facilities.
At Koffel Brininger Nesbitt, we believe that the justice system needs reform
in order to offer convicted individuals a space to grow and change. Without
the statistics needed, it is hard to obtain a clear understanding of our
current justice system.
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