A state task force released recommendations Thursday in response to Wisconsin facing substantial inequalities in its criminal justice system.
The Governor's Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Wisconsin Justice System said in a statement Thursday in many areas of the justice system, minorities face harsher treatment than whites.
According to the findings, blacks are more likely to be arrested for drug offenses and drug sales in the state. However, the report said white youths are more likely to use drugs than black youths.
In public hearings, the commission heard testimony that suburban offenders were often given citations or fines instead of being arrested, unlike inner city offenders charged with similar crimes.
The racial disparities in our justice system, as well as in education, employment, and health care, are nothing short of a crisis for our state and nation,"" said Commission co-chair state Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee.
The commission said improving access to treatment options would be more effective than ""zero tolerance"" policies in local communities. A lack of treatment and community supervision options for prison inmates was also cited as impacting the justice system.
Minnesota, a state with crime rates similar to Wisconsin's, has more options for non-violent, drug and alcohol-related offenders as alternatives to prisons, according to the report. This has led Wisconsin to have almost three times as many inmates as Minnesota.
According to the report, inmates in Wisconsin are often enrolled in treatment programs shortly before their release. If treatment options were available from the start, it is more likely an addiction could be stopped, according to the report.
""This report states unequivocally what we've known for some time,"" said Jill Jacklitz in a release, executive director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. ""Misguided public policy is playing a role in the immense racial disparities we see in the justice system, and children and youth are paying the price.""
The commission said laws banning access to financial aid and housing funds from convicted drug offenders should also be revised.
