New (depressing) report on race and increased incarceration

As I highlighted previously in this post, there has been relatively little discussion of racial disparities or the overall scope of imprisonment in all the recent debates over sentencing reform.  (As detailed in this post, though, Marc Mauer has urged that post-Booker debates include a re-examination of "the unprecedented harshness of the policies adopted over the past 20 years, which have combined to produce a prison population unimaginable until recently.")

But a recent Justice Policy Institute report entitled "Tipping Point: Maryland’s Overuse of Incarceration and the Impact on Community Safety" puts a critical spotlight on these issues.  As detailed in this article from the Baltimore Sun, the report finds that over half of "Baltimore's African-American men in their 20s are either incarcerated or under criminal justice system supervision," and argues that "much of the money spent on incarceration would be better spent on drug treatment and community redevelopment."   The Tipping Point report can be accessed at this link, and key findings from the report are summarized in this press release.