It started with a prayer. If you believe in such things, it was a synchronicity - a meaningful coincidence. Three evangelical types - an older African-American woman and a nice-looking young black couple with a baby - showed up on my doorstep.  They arrived just 10 minutes before I sat down to have a roundtable discussion about the problems of race, crime, community, and education. They wanted to know if they could pray for me.

And so began a five-hour conversation about the state of Tacoma with current and former members of Tacoma's dreaded gang community. Yes, you read that right. We decided to ask the local thuggery what they think Tacoma needs to do to clean up its act. The responses, which may be too dead-on for many to comprehend - these are gang members after all - have been distilled into recommendations to follow.

At the table was General Wojack, once a general among Bloods on Tacoma's Hilltop. Former Crip Christopher Love Hewitt was there. Cle-Bone, who never took off his shades was at the table, as was Speak on the Mic, one of the sharpest minds I've encountered in awhile. And there was the guy with corn-rows who played games on his cell phone and giggled a lot. Joking aside, these are some of the smartest, funniest, and deeply aware people I've encountered in awhile. And yes, we changed some names for this roundtable. 

The starting point

The impetus for this experiment in public policy analysis was the recent roundup of 32 local gang members by a broad-based criminal task force. In early February, law enforcement agencies throughout Pierce County served warrants, made arrests and charged 32 alleged gang members with a laundry list of charges. They were also charged with criminal conspiracy, which is based on a legal tactic that was used first to prosecute mafia syndicates.

In May, Superior Court Judge Thomas Felnagle called that approach fundamentally unfair and asked that the accused be prosecuted individually for actual crimes based on factual evidence.

Many observers said they were surprised and confused by the seemingly creative approach to mass prosecution of the accused. But not General Wojack. Wojack tells it like this: The legal system is infected with racism at every level. Regardless of which branch of the justice system you're talking about, administrators and officers seem more interested in preserving departmental budgets than eliminating crime, supporting community programs or improving education, he says.

"The legal system is fucked up here," says Wojack, who spent the better part of the '80s watching gangs from Los Angeles migrate to Tacoma before getting involved himself. Wojack is no longer affiliated with local gangs, but he is fully aware of the kinds of treatment they and African Americans are subject to. "If you're black, the whole situation is completely different."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder agrees with Wojack, saying shortly after he was appointed, ‘'in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."

Holder has since launched an examination of the criminal justice system, focusing on the effects of race and on ways to rid the system of racial bias. Earlier this year, in a case that challenged the elimination of voting rights for former felons in Washington state, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a historic opinion that recognized compelling evidence of racial bias in Washington's criminal justice system. The court found that, ‘'in the total population of potential ‘felons' ... , minorities are more likely than whites to be searched, arrested, detained, and ultimately prosecuted.''

"Although (the state) criticized the experts' studies and the conclusions, the (plaintiffs') reports, when objectively viewed, support a finding of racial discrimination in Washington's criminal justice system," said Circuit Court Judge A. Wallace Tashima.  "Given that uncontroverted showing," he added, "in the words of the district court, there can be ‘no doubt that members of racial minorities have experienced discrimination in Washington's criminal justice system.'"

On a national level, legislation recently has been introduced that would create task forces across the country to collect and review information about the exercise of prosecutorial discretion and its impact on racial and ethnic minorities. Prosecutorial discretion refers to the often unchecked decision-making powers held by prosecutors and judges. From deciding who is charged to who gets a plea bargain to who gets sentenced for how long, prosecutors can make or break lives, often on a whim.

These disparities, in part, contribute to some alarming statistics. In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, author Michelle Alexander notes that there are more African Americans in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began. The recent disintegration of the African American family is due in large part to the mass imprisonment of black fathers, she suggests. Meanwhile, 35 percent of the U.S. prison population is African American while blacks constitute only 12 percent of the nation's population. Recent Department of Corrections figures show that about 28 percent of the Washington's prison population is African American, but accounts for only about 3 percent of Washington's population. A review of arrest records during the Washington voting rights case showed that increased criminal behavior could not account for the disproportionately high incarceration rates among black Washingtonians. Translation: The disparity doesn't exist because black people commit more crimes than their lighter-skinned counterparts.

Recommendation no. 1

Recognizing that the disproportionate number of minorities in local prisons and jails is, at least in part, the result of system-wide racism and that this disparity has untold negative impacts on our community, it is recommended that community leaders begin developing a plan to enact criminal justice reform at every level of law enforcement. This would have to include every link in the chain, from police officers to prosecutors to judges. We know that criminal justice reform can be politically perilous. But any legislator who has the balls to stand up to gangs should have the balls to stand up to ignorance. For guidelines, see Reducing Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: A Manual for Practitioners and Policy Makers, published by The Sentencing Project. Local policymakers or interested citizens can download it for free here.

Hewitt and others in the circle suggest that the criminal justice system seems to have been designed to keep people trapped. Indeed, a 2002 study by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 52 percent of released convicts were back in jail within three years. In Washington, 65 percent of males ended up back in jail. Nearly three-quarters of African American men arrested in Washington returned to jail, according to reports from the Sentencing Guidelines Commission. That same report noted that people leaving jails in Pierce County had the highest rate of re-offense in the state, at a whopping 68 percent. 

"We make mistakes trying to survive," says former Crip, Hewitt. "And once you're in the system, they got you on the chain."

Getting into gangs is easy, the group agreed, compared to getting out.

"You really can't leave," says Speak on the Mic. "There are so many things that keep you trapped. I mean, when I get out, where are the new opportunities? What am I supposed to do when I get out?"

"There aren't enough jobs," says Cle-Bone. "And if there are, a lot of these guys have felonies. That makes it impossible when you get out. You can't get a place to live. You can't get a job. If you're on parole, you can't go anywhere. If you can't leave, what do you do? Work at McDonald's?"

"I can sell dope and make more money than working at McDonald's," says Love Hewitt.

"And parole is a joke," says Speak on the Mic. "If I can't leave because of my parole, and I can't get a job, and I can't get a place to live, what am I supposed to do? The people who get out and are still here are stuck here. You have to do something to survive."

It's true, by the way. Once someone has entered the local criminal justice system, it's hard to get out. Several decades of "tough on crime" legislation have been so successful that we now face a prison overcrowding crisis of immense proportion. But packing people into prison wasn't enough. Other punishments, policies and sanctions now mean an arrest can touch every aspect of an individual's life, affecting employment, housing, education, military service, public benefits, driver's licenses, child custody, voting, and jury service, among others. This is especially true for felons, who are all but barred from traditional affordable housing, applying for jobs or receiving public assistance.

Getting a job is especially hard for people getting out of jail. Many employers use a criminal record as a screen and will not consider applicants with a criminal history.

Alexander notes that a growing number of African American men are being labeled for life as criminals.

"These men are part of a growing undercaste - not class, caste - permanently relegated, by law, to a second-class status," she says in an editorial published by Mother Jones.

In an effort to combat "the revolving door of state and federal prisons," President George W. Bush signed into law the Second Chance Act of 2007.  The act provided $165 million a year in grant money to state, faith-based, and community programs that facilitate re-entry of ex-offenders back into their communities.

"People who have been incarcerated are often barred from housing, shunned by potential employers and surrounded by others in similar circumstances. This is a recipe for high recidivism. And it's the reason that two-thirds of those released are rearrested within three years. It's time for a new approach," said U.S. Attorney General Holder in a speech to the Project Safe Neighborhoods annual conference in New Orleans.

Recommendation no. 2

Let's continue to try and find a way to keep people who have been imprisoned from going back. Based on terrifying descriptions of local prison conditions by roundtable participants, it doesn't seem reasonable that anyone would want to go back. Alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders are a start. Programs emphasizing education and vocational training for prisoners, along with a few decent substance abuse treatment programs, would have a powerful impact on the community.

Ah, community. That's where the conversation gets most interesting. It sounds strange to say, but these guys seem to feel abandoned by the community.

"The problem with Tacoma is that the community won't come together and do something about it," says Cle-Bone. "They won't come to an agreement and support one another."

Everyone at the table said in one way or another that most of the solutions to the problem of street gangs require the whole community to get involved. More than anything, though, they say the community needs to learn to work together.

"If it's not affecting you directly, you don't worry about it," says Hewitt. "If you got a big-ass house and lots of cars and money, you don't care."

"Nobody puts their foot forward," says Cle-Bone. "Everybody always has a different agenda. Nobody wants to come together and really work towards something that's greater."

Hewitt notes that community programs - especially ones that give kids something to do - are essential to keeping kids from looking for something more criminal to do. Community programs seem to have dwindled along with arts education, vocational training, business education, and other kinds of outreach aimed at elevating struggling communities.

"Kids are growing up with nothing to do. That's when you turn to the negative," says Wojack. "Anything that gives you an adrenaline rush."

"I know Tacoma's got money to spend," says Hewitt. "They're just not spending it on the things we need."

Pierce County's 2010 budget, for example, preserved a disproportionate amount of law enforcement budgets, which now consume 78 percent of the county's tax general fund. Meanwhile, parks and recreation, arts programs, community programs such as Safe Streets, and maintenance of public parks have been eliminated or drastically reduced. Culture and recreation now make up just 2.4 percent of general fund expenditures. Parks have their own funding sources, but those declined by 40 percent or so since last year, according to this year's county budget brief.

"They're not putting money into the community," says Wojack. "There's no programs for the kids. There's nothing to do. We used to have block parties and have a good time. Then cats started killing each other."

"They need to be teaching," says Speak on the Mic. "You need to be taught how to do certain things - how to pay your bills and basic shit. If there are resources, nobody tells us about them. We need arts programs. Why isn't there a School of the Arts on Hilltop? That's where we need it."

What's worse, several say, is that it seems like some of the local African American community has abandoned them as well.

"The brothers that are 50 or 60 years old with their tie on, they aren't teaching anyone anything," says Cle-Bone. "They're making money. There's a lot of brothers on that pedestal. There's black millionaires on Hilltop running businesses. But they're not teaching people. They're not coming back to the hood."

"They say come to church, and then we'll tell you where the jobs are," says Hewitt. "That's why a bunch of people go to church - to get jobs. Most times, if you don't have a job, they don't want to fool with you 'cause not having a job means you lazy."

In that context, and in every other context, it seems to come down to a fundamental disconnect. Several of the guys who have since abandoned gang life say they still feel like outsiders. All of them seem interested in finding and promoting alternatives to joining gangs. All of them seem to sincerely want to make Tacoma a better place to live. They also seem to have a better idea than most about what drives people to crime and what we need to do to keep them out. 

I ask them what we should do one last time. Everyone answers at once.

"Somebody got to take that first step."

"There a separation between the people with a suit and tie and the people with a baseball cap and a jersey. There's a separation."

"Nobody cares."

"You got a bunch of rich people coming together with money, and they don't know what to do with it. And you got people in the community that know what needs to be done, but don't know how to do it."

"People need to start inquiring about how to do this shit."

"People need to put money into teaching people how to live."

"What can somebody with money do that the community can't do by coming together?"

Recommendation no. 3

Stop for one second. Ponder for a moment that what you've read - much of it straight from the mouths of current or former Tacoma gang members - is absolutely worth considering. You'll be among a minority, I imagine. Take a look at the recommended reading list below. Study up. Maybe think about what you can do to contribute to this conversation. Knowledge is power. If you care about this sort of thing, take the time to read up. There’s something for everyone here.
 
Recommended reading list

The Sentencing Project’s Race and Justice Clearinghouse – Frequently called to testify before Congress and other federal folk, the Sentencing Project’s Race and Justice Clearinghouse provides “information, analysis, and commentary on race and ethnicity as they interact with the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems.The Clearinghouse contains information and tools for policymakers, practitioners, and advocates to understand racial disparities so they can be addressed, and make the criminal justice system more fair and effective.”
 
Prison and Jail Usage Statistics – Washington State Office of Financial Management
 
Criminal Justice Data – Pierce County - Washington State County Criminal Justice Data Book
 
Uniform Crime Report Statistics – This one creates a nice graph. Notice how the lines go down in Pierce County, Tacoma and Lakewood.
 
Preliminary Crime Statistics for 2009 - FBI
 
United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary - Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security – Hearing Report - Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System – No wonder nobody reads this isht. 332 pages. Worth it.
 
The New Jim Crow – by Michelle Alexander
 
July 15 - House Judiciary Chairmen introduce legislation to end racial profiling
 
Fight Crime and Save Money: Development of an Investment Tool for States to Study Sentencing and Corrections Public Policy Options – Washington Public Policy Project and Pew Research Center team up to tell us how to fix it
 
Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System - A Manual for Practitioners
and Policymakers

Downscaling Prisons – How four states have reduced prison populations
 
A Change of Course – A nice overview of states’ evolving (or devolving) approach to criminal sentencing policy
 
Vera Institute of Justice Prosecution and Racial Justice Program report on Prosecution and Racial Justice: Using data to advance fairness in criminal prosecution - A nice roadmap for district attorneys and their staffs to collect and analyze data that can identify inappropriate racial disparities in prosecutorial decision making and guide corrective action when necessary.
 
Integration Debate – Takes a look at controversies over the nation's ongoing struggles with discrimination and segregation
 
Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System – What it sounds like.
 
The Changing Racial Dynamics of the War on Drugs – Examining a sharp decline in black incarceration for drug offenses….for the first time in 25 years
 
2009 Criminal Justice Transition Coalition’s collaborative report – It’s 263 pages. But it’s good.