In contrast to white people, minorities are overrepresented in the United States penal system. Despite being of the lesser portion of the general population, Black and Latino’s people comprise the larger part of the prison population for various reasons. First, minorities are more likely to be arrested for drug possession and other drug offenses. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Second, people from minority communities also serve longer sentences. Since they are in prison for a longer time than the average white convict, the number of incarcerated minorities is disproportionately high. Third, the cycle of incarceration also tends to occur mostly within minority populations. This is because the juvenile prison population consists mainly of people of color. Juvenile convicts are highly likely to re-offend and consequently, get stuck within the penal system for the majority or all of their lives.
The disproportionate number of people of color within US jails has several effects. On an individual level, a person released from prison could experience delusions, PTSD, depression, and other mental health problems. On a communal level, minority people have lost faith in the criminal justice system. They have become disillusioned with a system that oppresses them. Another effect is that minority communities are economically disadvantaged from having many of their members in prisons. Poverty is a risk factor for higher crime levels and poor mental health. Since these communities become poorer, the people experience negative conditions such as lack of access to healthcare and homeless. In social work, the effects of the incarceration of one person reverberate within the family from which they were uprooted. Consequently, it is safe to assume that mass incarceration of minorities will affect, not just the imprisoned people, but also the communities of color.