• Listen to this segment

A new report by the Justice Policy Institute released yesterday details the proliferation of policing, immigration enforcement, and incarceration policies in the US over the last ten years. “Moving Target: A Decade of Resistance to the Prison Industrial Complex,” was written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the prison abolitionist group Critical Resistance. Among the report’s key findings is that over the past ten years the US prison population has grown by 32 percent as 454 new offenses have been added to the federal crime code. Furthermore, “Moving Target,” also notes that the number of immigrants detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased almost exponentially – by more than 200%. Racial disparities also continue in terms of how many White drug-users and sellers are incarcerated as compared to Blacks. With the backdrop of these sobering statistics, Critical Resistance is convening a conference this weekend in Oakland to mark its 10th anniversary, assess the movement, and strategize continued resistance to the prison industrial complex.

GUESTS: Nastasia Welsh, co-author of a Justice Policy Institute report, Mia Birdsong, organizer with Critical Resistance. For more information, visit www.criticalresistance.org or call the local chapter at 323-238-0596. To download the report, visit www.justicepolicy.org or call 202-558-7974.