Instruction
Base your submission on the following scenario:
Recently, River City, Nebraska Mayor Irma Gulch stated that her "Number 1" priority as mayor was addressing crime in the city. In line with her efforts, she is creating an advisory group to make recommendations and proposed solutions. In her instructions to the group, she asked that research into the crime problem include a careful examination of sociological contributors to the criminal behaviors patterns that they are seeing. Some of these considerations include an examination of issues that are race-based, while others are racially neutral. The observations about the challenges facing cities, and in particular, the black communities in those cities, have been made for decades. A list of race-based considerations includes:
Disproportionate numbers of teen pregnancy among black children
Vestiges of racism that may exist in the community’s justice system
Higher incidence of poverty among the city’s black population
Higher rates of unemployment or underemployment among the city’s black population
Educational achievement gaps in the performance of black children reported at the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 12th grade levels in the city’s largest school district
Significantly higher incidence of single, female-headed households exists in the black community
Drug use and control of drug distribution is a more significant problem in the black community
You have been selected to chair the advisory group tasked with making the recommendations to Mayor Gulch. In an effort to assist her and other similar civic leaders across the country address crime problems, please review the above list and write a reasoned analysis with concrete suggestions for improvement. Remember, the above list is developed for consideration by one community, but it can be extrapolated to other communities throughout our country. Your analysis should include a review of the available research to support your recommendations for reducing the crime rate by addressing some of the sociological and cultural foundations of criminal behavior within this racial minority group.