According to sociological and criminological studies, social problems, namely poverty, race, and punishment are interconnected. Different scholars have developed five core arguments regarding the interconnection of these problems. The first is that criminal victimization and sanctions perpetuate stratification and poverty. The understanding of this argument requires an exploration of the current trends in criminal punishment by poverty status and ethnicity. It also demands an examination of how victimization patterns vary across races and how sanctions affect future chances at life. Criminal sanctions are usually inflicted by a state; however, the determination of the severity of the sanctions needs justification (Pager, 2007). One such justification is that the state, compared to other agents, is more likely to determine when a sanction is rightfully deserved (Pager, 2007). This implies that other agents such as private individuals, therefore, could replace the state. This has spurred demand to reform the criminal justice system in the states, through the introduction of privately inflicted sanctions. Privately inflicted sanctions include private prisons and shaming penalties (Macionis, 2010).
When a private individual or organization inflicts punishment, they act based on what they perceive as a justified response to a criminal activity (Pager, 2007). Korgen and Furst (2012) argue that, since privately inflicted sanctions are not grounded on the state’s judgments, it is impermissible for the state to encourage such a sanction. The authors also state that criminal sanctions and victimizations mostly occur in racial hierarchies. A racial hierarchy is an example of a stratified system whereby some ethnic groups are more powerful compared to others (Korgen & Furst, 2012). In such a society, the hierarchy benefits the powerful and rich ethnic groups leaving out the poor (Pager, 2007). For example, criminal victimization occurs among households who earn less that $7,500 in a year (Macionis, 2010). This affirms that the infliction of sanctions and victimization in such a society would perpetuate poverty.
The second argument is that a punishment affects convicts, their families, racial group, peers, and neighborhoods. A majority of sociologists agrees that there is a ripple effect of punishment on the families and peers of a convict (Pager, 2007). The negative impacts of punishment are felt across these groups in the form of racial profiling, stereotyping, and discrimination (Macionis, 2010). For example, some law enforcement agents believe that everyone in a criminal’s neighborhood is an offender, as well. Although there are undefined associations between imprisonment and poverty, previous studies have noted that this form of punishment has a negative economic effect on the family of a convict (Harris & Miller, 2003). Similarly, racial profiling, which is the use of a person’s race in the determination of whether to engage law enforcement affects the peers, neighborhoods, and friends of a convict in a negative way (Pager, 2007). In this case, the three social problems, poverty, race, and punishment are interconnected; punishment perpetuates poverty among the members of a convict’s ethnicity.
Another substantial argument in the studies about the interconnection of social problems is that African-Americans are incarcerated many more times that whites. According to statistics, the United States (US) has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, which currently is 738 people per 100,000 (Pager, 2007). These statistics also indicate that black males are particularly incarcerated at a higher rate compared to any other race or gender; black males constitute 35.4 percent of the prison population in the US (Pager, 2007). This is a significant rate, considering that the black males constitute less than 10 percent of the overall American population. These statistics signify that racial oppression still exists in the US, despite amid campaigns to eliminate population differences. Additionally, African-Americans have been perceived as violent individuals, whose society is characterized by drugs related activities (Harris & Miller, 2003). For example, during the Hurricane Katrina, the media portrayed African-Americans as looters who were stealing from the people. The whites, on the contrary, were described as resourceful by breaking into outlets for food. Such perceptions have increased the rate of racial profiling and incarceration on African-Americans. Similarly, compared to the whites in the US, the African-Americans are poorer (Macionis, 2010). This is partially caused by discrimination, especially during employment. This argument, therefore, provides a direct link between the three social problems, race, poverty, and punishment.
Sociologists seeking to prove that social problems are interconnected have also generated a link between the variation in punishment and economic deprivation (Macionis, 2010). Theories such as the conflict, sub-cultural, and strain have explored the link between crime and economic conditions (Harris & Miller, 2003). These theories are in unison that crime is related directly to poverty relative economic deprivation, and inequality. Criminal punishments are punished in varying ways. For example, a criminal activity such as robbery with violence is punished in a distinct manner from pick pocketing (Pager, 2007). Nevertheless, the two crimes are mainly committed for the same purposes. An examination of both crimes generates a conclusion that an individual involved in a robbery with violence is deprived economically more than one pick pocketing. This affirms that the variation of punishments depends on the level of a person’s economic deprivation. Law enforcement agents, however, lay the blame on the offenders and argue that economic deprivation should not be a reason to commit a crime. Similarly, previous studies indicate that individuals living below the poverty line are more likely to engage in criminal activity, regardless their race or gender (Macionis, 2010). This affirms that there is an interconnection among social problems.
The final argument is that collateral sanctions play a significant role in ethnic and racial stratification given the rise in the number of felons. As mentioned, the number of incarcerated African-Americans is significantly higher than that of whites; therefore, the infliction of collateral sanctions has played a role in stratifying this society further. A collateral sanction refers to a penalty imposed on a person upon their conviction of a criminal act (Korgen & Furst, 2012). When imposed on a person from a given ethnicity, for example, a collateral sanction prohibits them from access to certain amenities (Pager, 2007). For example, a collateral sanction prohibiting access to public funds propagates poverty, thereby causing a ripple effect to the family and the race of the felon. Consequently, this type of sanction fosters criminal activities caused by economic deprivation. The infliction of collateral sanctions, therefore, has increased the racial stratification, thereby providing a link between poverty, race, and punishment.
Poverty, race, and punishment are social problems, which are interconnected. According to sociologists, people engage in crime due to economic deprivation; this provides a link between poverty and punishment. Racial profiling, on the contrary, generates a link between ethnicity and the other two social problems. Law enforcement officers often associate a race from which a felon stems with the crime. According to statistics, the African-Americans community is such a race, which has been associated with a high crime rate; as such, African-Americans are incarcerated more often compared to the whites (Harris & Miller, 2003). A majority of members from this ethnicity live below the poverty line. This shows that the three social problems, namely race, poverty, and punishment are interconnected.
References
Harris, O., & Miller, R. R. (2003). Impacts of incarceration on the African American family. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers.
Macionis, J. J. (2010). Social problems. Boston: Prentice Hall.
Pager, D. (2007). Marked: Race, crime, and finding work in an era of mass incarceration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
