Group 9 Racial Disparity Project

1. Group 9Racial Disparity Project Hannah Thornsburg Willie Roach Katie Hinds Jaycob Enzler

2. Mission: • 1) to reduce racial disparity in the criminal justice system through community organizing, policy advocacy,
individual representation, public education, research and, when appropriate, litigation; • 2) to reduce the harm caused by national and local drug policies to communities of color and individuals within those communities; and • 3) to provide technical assistance to community partners working to achieve these goals. Racial Disparity Project (The RDP)

3. Began in 1999 as a grant funded project aimed at reducing racial bias in the criminal justice system • Since 2001, the RDP has focused primarily on the drug war and reducing the harm caused by current law enforcement approaches. History

4. Some Shocking Numbers…..

5. Food for Thought • What would white America’s response be if millions of young, white, middle-class suburban folk were arrested, sentenced, and put in jail for an extended period of time for recreational drug use?

6. -ism’s • Racism and Environmentalism • From Racialized Mass Incarceration • Police would have a much easier task of inserting themselves into personal and community networks of interaction in disadvantaged black communities than in relatively stable, middle class suburbs. • Police focus on low-income black communities to show results.

7. •In 2005, the RDP identified as an important area of focus, the exclusion of young people of color from public spaces through the use of police “trespass admonishments.” • •The banning was damaging in three ways • 1.If the recipient violated the ban, they could later be arrested and prosecuted for criminal trespass. • 2.If the recipient abided by the ban, they could lose access to aspects of her community and family. • 3.They essentially lose the feeling of being equal members in the community. Trespass

8. •Since 2008, the RDP’s primary focus has been on the development and implementation of a pre-booking diversion program for low-level drug and prostitution offenders. • •This program allows law enforcement to redirect low-level offenders to community-based services instead of jail. • •By doing this, it improves public safety and order and may reduce criminal behavior of people who participate in the program. Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion

9. •As part of its work on LEAD, the RDP is working to develop a leadership development program for individuals involved in street level drug activity. • •The Leadership Development program will serve women and men between the ages of 18 and 35. Leadership Development

10. As A Whole RDP is community based and allows people who are treated in a subordinate fashion to get fair/equal treatment . The officers of the community abuse their power by enforcing the trespassing act in order to keep the streets safe on their own terms. The police force decided to give people who were offenders banned from parks, sidewalks, and other public places.

11. Where RDP is headed The organization RDP is planning on upping the assistance for the LEAD program. Goal: Take in more low-level offender to catch the bigger, more dangerous offenders out on the streets.