The Development of a REAL Social Problem and CRISIS

 

“Penalties against possession of the drug should not be more

damaging than the drug itself”.

– President Carter

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared that America was fighting a “war on drugs” after the popularization of drugs through the 1960s hippie subculture. 

In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), was created.

Despite later efforts by President Carter to decriminalize marijuana and lessen prison sentences for drug crimes, President Reagan pressed on in the 1980s to prosecute those addicted to, selling, or using drugs.

Regan believed “it’s far more effective if you take the customers away than if you try to take the drugs away from the customers”.  During this time, more and more Americans were being charged, convicted, and imprisoned for drug crimes.  While President Clinton did work to make some progressive strides in pushing for more rehabilitative programs, his efforts were mostly unsuccessful in the grand scheme of things.

According to Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow”, the United States prison population sky rocketed in the last thirty years from 300,000 to over 2 million thanks in large part to drug convictions.

Mass incarceration became a problem in the United States over the last 30 years because it is a direct result of the United States “war on drugs”. According to Alexander, Governments often use punishment as a means of social control.  The “war on drugs” was the United States’ vehicle for creating social control and the social problem of mass incarceration we are faced with today.

“The problem with jail is that people get meaner when you out them in jail”.

 – First grade student from Atlantic City, NJ

Mass incarceration is a crisis.

According to Michelle Alexander, “one in three young African American men will serve time in prison if these current trends continue”.  If mass incarceration was a disease reaching this many individuals, it would be considered an epidemic and there would be a large public outcry and demands for change.

However, unfortunately, the issue of mass incarceration is not being widely recognized as a crisis.  If even first grade students are aware of the prison system and what it does to individuals, while on a very basic scale, then it is known to the public that this is an issue.

Nevertheless, while mass incarceration is a legitimized issue that is widely recognized in many circles as a social problem and hits close to home for many Americans, it is not as large of a public issue as it should be and does not gain the recognition and it support that it should.  More Americans need to mobilize behind this cause, create a plan of action, and let Americans know that this is a crisis!

 

Sources:

Dufton, Emily. "The War on Drugs: How President Nixon Tied Addiction to Crime." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/the-war-on-drugs-how-president-nixon-tied-addiction-to-crime/254319/>.

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New, 2010. Print.

"The United States War on Drugs." The United States War on Drugs. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html>.

 

Mass Incarceration and Social Work Values

“Our problems are man-made therefore they may be solved by man.

And man can be as big as he wants.

No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings”. – JFK

As a social worker, the founding principles we must abide by are to promote social justice and fight for human rights. Social workers must remain aware of injustices, spread awareness, and work towards solutions. Mass incarceration is one of those injustices that social workers must take responsibility for alleviating.

In order for a social problem to be recognized by the public as a crisis, it must be legitimized. In order for a problem to be legitimized it must be recognized and people must be aware of it.

Who is responsible for spreading awareness?

Naturally, those who are directly affected by an injustice will spread awareness to garner support. For example, members of the LGBTQ community, their families, and friends will rally and, usually, support their loved ones in fighting for rights like marriage equality.

What about those who don’t have a voice?

Social workers must speak on behalf of the oppressed and give them a voice.

Individuals who have been incarcerated and currently are incarcerated face such grave injustices in the United States. A lot of the time, these individuals are so oppressed that they cannot find a voice to speak up for themselves or a platform to do so. Social workers must take responsibility in assisting to spread awareness of mass incarceration in order to legitimize is as a social crisis.

If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

According to Jonathon Simons’ “Mass Incarceration: From Social Policy to Social Problem”,mass incarceration was a public policy and form of control over people living in poor urban settings. This trend began over thirty years ago with “the drug war” and the hype surrounding it in the 1970s-1980s. However, in recent years American society has made the shift to recognizing mass incarceration as a social problem.

The fight is not over…

Awareness is just beginning to spread. As social workers we must recognize our established values, fight against injustices, and work to make the change we promise in the National Social Worker’s Code of Ethics.

Whether at the micro level of clinical social work or the policy changing level of macro social work, every social worker can play a role in ending policies that promote mass incarceration and negatively affect individuals who are and have been incarcerated.

Macro social workers can put forth efforts to create policy changes surrounding drug crimes, which account for many of the reasons why individuals are incarcerated, as well as the systematic barriers that inhibit individuals once released from prison.

Micro, or clinical, social workers can counsel incarcerated individuals and work with individuals who have been released from prison by providing rehabilitative counseling an connecting them to services for housing, employment, and others.

The possibilities for social workers to effect change are endless. Mass incarceration provides a limitless platform for social workers to make a difference on many levels.

Sources:

"Code of Ethics." Code of Ethics. National Association of Social Workers, 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp.

Petersilia, Joan, and Kevin R. Reitz. The Oxford Handbook of Sentencing and Corrections. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.