We are committed to addressing the injustices of racial disparity in our agencies. Our committee is setting out first to identify and document current correctional policies and practices that generate racial disparity among the inmate population and our staff, and then to implement promising policies and practices for eliminating the disparities. If successful, we expect that these reforms will advance safety in our correctional facilities and excellence among our staff. In a larger sense, not only is this work the right thing to do for corrections; it is also expected to impact the larger criminal justice community. Thereby, setting the stage for a reduction in over-incarceration in our country and the overwhelming costs of corrections.
Our first task is underway—to compile self-assessment data concerning racial disparity in local, state and federal jails and prisons. We have created a self-assessment checklist to capture the information needed to identify patterns of racial disparity within and across agencies. The checklist has been distributed to the ASCA membership. Members have been encouraged to self-assess racial disparity within their agencies overall, by facility, and/or by gender. At this time, the Committee is not asking the agencies to submit any data to ASCA as there are no funds to compile and analyze the data.
However, a proposal has been submitted various foundations whose work focus on social injustices for funding a national report that examines the various types of disparity and documents any costs incurred as a result.
This national report will also serve as the starting point for our efforts to identify and implement promising policies and practices for eliminating disparity problems. This initiative will include surveying ASCA agency directors to identify current approaches for addressing racial disparity within their agencies; analyzing the survey and conducting interviews to identify promising strategies and approaches; conducting site visits to agencies with informative lessons on addressing racial disparity; and then documenting in a handbook the promising strategies and practices for addressing racial diversity in corrections settings.
Correctional agencies have limited control over who comes to prisons. In large measure, admissions are driven by the policies and practices of law enforcement, prosecutors, and the courts. Nevertheless, we plan to use the self-assessment data and promising practices as vehicles to engage our sister criminal justice agencies, legislators, executive branch officials, and other organizations in a discussion of racial disparity.
Our first task is underway—to compile self-assessment data concerning racial disparity in local, state and federal jails and prisons. We have created a self-assessment checklist to capture the information needed to identify patterns of racial disparity within and across agencies. The checklist has been distributed to the ASCA membership. Members have been encouraged to self-assess racial disparity within their agencies overall, by facility, and/or by gender. At this time, the Committee is not asking the agencies to submit any data to ASCA as there are no funds to compile and analyze the data.
However, a proposal has been submitted various foundations whose work focus on social injustices for funding a national report that examines the various types of disparity and documents any costs incurred as a result.
This national report will also serve as the starting point for our efforts to identify and implement promising policies and practices for eliminating disparity problems. This initiative will include surveying ASCA agency directors to identify current approaches for addressing racial disparity within their agencies; analyzing the survey and conducting interviews to identify promising strategies and approaches; conducting site visits to agencies with informative lessons on addressing racial disparity; and then documenting in a handbook the promising strategies and practices for addressing racial diversity in corrections settings.
Correctional agencies have limited control over who comes to prisons. In large measure, admissions are driven by the policies and practices of law enforcement, prosecutors, and the courts. Nevertheless, we plan to use the self-assessment data and promising practices as vehicles to engage our sister criminal justice agencies, legislators, executive branch officials, and other organizations in a discussion of racial disparity.