NCJ Number
174659
Journal
Fordham Urban Law Journal Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: Spring 1993 Pages: 621-640
Date Published
1993
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This essay discusses the response of urban criminal justice to urban minority crime, the response of urban minorities to urban criminal justice, the response of the reformers, and the Osborne Association's role in addressing urban crime.
Abstract
African-American men well know that the official response to the problem of urban crime by minority youth has been prison, prison, and more prison. A National Council of Crime and Delinquency study concludes that an African-American youth with a violent felony offense was over three times more likely to be committed to a Youth Authority institution than a white youth with the same offense. Most proposals for reform fall into one of two categories: a "systems improvement orientation" and a "broader crime prevention/social reform orientation." The "systems improvement orientation" views crime as an individual problem best addressed through more effective or more rigorous enforcement of the law. The social reform orientation emphasizes the root causes of crime and the need to address them through social and economic reconstruction. Neither of these orientations has proven itself to be effective in reducing urban crime. The Osborne Association has been providing model educational, employment, treatment, and support services to prisoners, ex- offenders, defendants, and their families for 60 years. What distinguishes the Osborne Association's programs is not that they address the root causes of crime or that they meet the criminal justice system's need for accountability and structure, but rather that they treat prisoners as full partners in their own rehabilitation and provide opportunities for them to make choices. The programs provide many services that address the root causes of crime, but the success of the programs derives from the respect and caring exhibited for those who are served. This essay describes the Osborne Association's most recent program, which is designed to increase legitimate entrepreneurial opportunities for minority youth. 52 footnotes