Hannah ThornsburgWillie Roach

Katie HindsJaycob Enzler

Group 9Racial Disparity Project

Racial Disparity Project (The RDP)

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.

History

• 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.

Some Shocking Numbers…..

• 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?

Food for Thought

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.

-ism’s

Tresp

ass

•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.

Law

Enfo

rcem

ent

Assis

ted

Dive

rsio

n

•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.

Lead

ersh

ip

Deve

lopm

ent

•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.

As A WholeRDP 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.

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.

Where RDP is headed