“For years people have sat back and watched the deterioration of the moral, social and political fabrics of our communities,” said state Rep. T.D. El-Amin.
“We need people to work to extract concrete, tangible things for the community and stop playing personal petty politics.”
El-Amin’s recent P4 Panel (People, Problems, Power and Progress) on criminal justice was the second of five panel discussions hosted by the 57th District representative that seeks to tackle the prevailing issues of crime, education and unemployment in the local black community.
The forum, held last month at the West End Community Center, pulled together every stage of the criminal justice system for a candid conversation on how the system works and how the public can hold each officeholder accountable.
El-Amin calls it his way of “bringing government to the people.”
“If we all have roles, we play a part in the problem and the solution,” El-Amin said. “There is an all-hands responsibility from the parents to the courts to the Circuit Attorney.”
Present at the recent forum were Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Juvenile Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards, Racial Justice Manager of the ACLU Redditt Hudson, SLPS Deputy Superintendent John Martin, Director of Missouri Department of Corrections Larry Crawford, and Founder of the UAPO Zaki Baruti.
Some of the key points addressed included:
? Lack of community cooperation hurts prosecution rates. By law if a victim or witness is not present, the Circuit Attorney cannot proceed with the case, Joyce said.
She said many times her office cannot prosecute because there is not enough evidence against the person or they do not have the involvement of the community. “We can’t keep the streets safe if we don’t have the ability to keep the criminals off the street,” Joyce said.
She added that the biggest obstacle her office faces is the lack of resources. Her team of 65 attorneys is responsible for all criminal cases in the metropolitan area. She said, “It’s not like what you see on TV. The criminal justice system does take some time.”
? No parental control and too much idle time increases incarceration rates of youth. Because blacks are having children at younger ages and their incarceration rates are steadily increasing, Edwards said children are not being supervised like they should – which is leading to higher incarceration rates of youth. He said the community needs to have a foot in raising society’s children and teaching them good values.
“Children don’t get an opportunity to pull weeds, clean out basements or wash cars anymore,” Edwards said. “What has happened in our communities is we have become afraid of the children.”
? Glaring racial disparities affects the whole system. While much attention has been paid to the alarming conviction rates of blacks, El-Amin said looking at the lack of Blacks represented in the very field of law enforcement (including the Circuit Attorney’s Office) is just as important.
One crucial part in addressing the disparities is to increase the number of minority judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors, El-Amin said. “I support the fair application of law and order,” El-Amin said. “But the unfortunate reality is there can be a great miscarriage of justice in many cases – people unlawfully convicted, death penalty, sentencing guidelines, racial profiling.”
? More inmates equals more money for the state? In actuality the State gets very little federal money for inmates, said Crawford, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections. He said Missouri gets about $15,000 per inmate per year. This money is used to provide inmates with health care, food, housing and treatment (substance abuse, mental health, education, etc.).
? Boost education and employment opportunities, which can help reduce crime. Crawford added that education and employment are vitally important to keeping people out of the criminal justice system. Statistics show that if a person has an education, he or she is more employable and less likely to commit a crime. According to the U.S. Probation Office, over 85 percent of those who return to prison at the federal level are unemployed at the time they go back.
Edwards added that education is not just academic, but includes teaching youth and young adults trades. “I’m not naïve enough to believe that all of our children will be rocket scientists, because they won’t,” Edwards said.
“We have to teach those who don’t care or don’t know how to spell the word ‘nail’ how to drive a nail.”
State Rep. T.D. El-Amin’s next P4 Panel will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 at Wohl Recreational Center, 1515 N. Kingshighway. In addition, there will a Special Interim Community Hearing called Slavery Impact at 2 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Old Courthose.