Conceptual Incarceration: A Thirteenth-Amendment Look at African Americans and Policing (From System in Black and White: Exploring the Connections Between Race, Crime, and Justice, P 109-124, 2000, Michael W. Markowitz and Delores D. Jones-Brown, eds. -- See NCJ-183600)

• NCJ Number: 183605
• Author(s): Ramona Brockett
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Praeger Publishers
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The author that contends constitutional interpretation, policing strategies, and "get tough" crime initiatives have resulted in the re-enslavement of blacks through the punitive measures of social control that are legally condoned by the 13th amendment.

Abstract

From the perspective of blacks and the police, punishment is both given and received. Blacks are punished in accordance with their role in society, and blacks are trapped by a Constitution that allows their existence to be plagued by the constant threat of punishment and incarceration. The irony of the 13th amendment concerns the struggle that blacks must face daily: that blacks are suspects or criminals because of their status. Such a philosophy allows blacks to constantly be in a state of conceptual incarceration. Likewise, police officers who enforce the law are the ones promoting punishment, resulting in a strain between law enforcement and the segment of society against it which law enforcement appears to continually exercise its prowess. Analysis of race issues is necessary for the development of effective policing strategies, not only in minority communities but in all communities where minorities exist. A basis for restructuring policing policies is suggested that incorporates a more utilitarian approach to policing and that provides an altruistic solution to the problem of conceptual incarceration. 49 references and 11 notes