From the Brennan Center for Justice report Poverty and Mass Incarceration in New York: An Agenda for Change:
Despite significant progress toward reducing the scale of mass incarceration,
New York State continues to operate one of the largest prison systems in the
nation, holding 43,500 people behind bars. New analysis conducted for this
report reveals an even starker reality: roughly 337,000 New Yorkers have spent time in prison at some point in their lives. That burden has fallen disproportionately on people of color: three-quarters of the state’s formerly imprisoned population is Black or Latino.
The collateral consequences they face are staggering. A recent Brennan Center report, Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality, shows that imprisonment and conviction diminish economic opportunity and, in aggregate, deepen racial and economic inequality. Time in prison reduces someone’s lifetime earning potential by nearly half a million dollars on average. And even a misdemeanor conviction reduces earnings by 16 percent.3 The ramifications are dire. The legacy
of imprisonment alone translates to as much as $1.9 billion annually in reduced earnings across New York State, borne overwhelmingly by people of color.
Reducing the economic damage of mass incarceration in New York — and its effect on racial inequality — requires, first and foremost, that the state shrink the size of its criminal justice system. But much must also be done for the many people who have already experienced conviction or imprisonment. Policymakers must improve the parole process, address a convoluted sentencing structure, and expand job and housing opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who already have a criminal record.
Toward that end, this policy brief first explores the complex realities of New York’s criminal justice system and then recommends specific steps that state and local lawmakers can take to mitigate these collateral consequences of conviction and incarceration.
While some of these reforms come with a small up-front price tag, they should be viewed as investments in the people of the state and its economic future. Today’s budget crisis underscores the need to think about the state’s long-term financial health. And as this report shows, criminal justice reform can complement efforts to build a more diverse and resilient state workforce.
Conviction and imprisonment present serious obstacles to economic well-being, in some cases even marking the difference between escapable and inescapable poverty. Reducing those barriers and providing economic opportunities to people already ensnared in the criminal justice
system will help more people achieve financial independence, stability, and ideally, prosperity.
Read the full report here.
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