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The 21st Century
This new century dawns with record-breaking numbers of incarcerated individuals in the U.S. and almost six million people under some type of correctional supervision. The war on drugs is still a significant part of crime control and accounts for the dramatic racial disproportion found within the system. However, although this retributive trend has had long-lasting impact, it may be coming to an end. Critical Resistance, a group of activists formed in 1997 to challenge the Prison Industrial Complex, is gaining momentum, and concern regarding the consequences of lock-'em-up strategies is growing. Errors resulting in wrongful convictions are starting to sour the public on the death penalty. Blatant racism, as expressed through racial profiling, can no longer be ignored. Many argue that punishment will never stop drug use, and California has made treatment a central focus. Harsh mandatory minimums are called into question. An alternative justice model, one completely outside the punitive paradigm, captures quite a few people's imaginations. Crime is way down, and it is becoming harder to justify budgets that spend more on prisons than schools. Is change in the air? Only time will tell. All of us are agents in filling out this timeline. Criminal justice, with all its many branches, does not stand apart from society. Whether you see yourself as participant or observer, law, enforcement, judicial practice, and punishment are carried out in all our names. It is up to everyone to choose an active or passive role in the future. |