ALARMING PRISON STATISTICS

State Rep. Peter Groff is right in requesting a review of the
criminal justice system after learning that one in every 19 adult
black males in the state was in prison at the end of 1999.

The statistics are alarming given the fact that the state's black
population is very small but grossly over-represented in prisons.
While blacks constitute only 4 percent of Colorado's population, they
account for 23 percent of state prisoners. In contrast, non-Hispanic
whites make up 78 percent of the general state population and 46
percent of the inmates. Black males are in prison at a whopping 10
times the rate for white males in the state.

In fact, the number of black men incarcerated in Colorado is larger
than the national average of one in 23 black men imprisoned. The
biggest factor contributing to the disparity may be in the way our
judicial system handles drug offenders.

Groff, a Denver Democrat, wants an examination of the racial
breakdown of the prison population, as well as the efficiency of
treatment programs. A study of the systemic inequalities in the
system is long overdue, as are the possible solutions it can reveal.

Some authorities deny that discrimination in the criminal justice
system has caused the disparity, citing socioconomic factors as the
real cause. But we need to look realistically at the possibility that
the system treats blacks and whites differently.

Poverty certainly plays a role. Those who can afford better lawyers
and have collateral for bail are less likely to spend time in jail
than those who have few or no assets.

But crimes tend to be punished differently for certain drug
offenders. For example, federal sentencing is stiffer for possession
and/or distribution of crack cocaine, which is more often associated
with blacks, than for powder cocaine, which is more likely to be used
by whites.

"There is no doubt in my mind ... that the war on drugs is racially
and ethnically discriminatory in the number of people in prison,"
says U.S. District Judge John L. Kane Jr. "There are more white folks
using dope in the suburbs than black people using drugs in the inner
city. If the percentage was the same in arrests, the war on drugs
would be over today because the majority population would not stand
for being treated the way the disenfranchised are being treated."

Kane believes low-level, non-violent drug offenders make up the large
numbers of blacks in prisons.

In addition to studying systemic problems, however, society should
place more emphasis on treatment of drug offenders. If addiction can
be treated and managed, more men, of all races, could be contributing
to their communities rather than idling in prison.