User:Kari.Harper/Incarceration in the United States/KNNorm Peer Review

General info
Kari.Harper - Kari
 * Whose work are you reviewing?


 * Link to draft you're reviewing
 * User:Kari.Harper/Incarceration in the United States
 * Link to the current version of the article (if it exists)
 * Incarceration in the United States

Evaluate the drafted changes
Kari, this is an incredible topic to take on and I think you chose a really important section to update. As I was reading the original article I was struck by the section that states: "The incarceration of youths has been linked to the effects of family and neighborhood influences. One study found that the "behaviors of family members and neighborhood peers appear to substantially affect the behavior and outcomes of disadvantaged youths."

The article makes it seem like only the people/peers in a neighborhood, and their actions, are responsible for the incarceration of youths from the same neighborhood. Updating that section to make sure it's clear that other external factors/policies contribute just as much (if not more) fills a huge gap. You mentioned the most important one that I know of, policing. You also mentioned different treatment in schools, zero tolerance policies, and adultification which are equally important! I think adding these factors goes a long way towards correcting the two dimensional image the current article paints of these neighborhoods. Without your updates I think someone reading this article would leave with reinforced stereotypes and dangerous, misleading ideas about the causes of youth incarceration.

My mind goes to including even broader influences, like systemic racism, for-profit prisons, red zoning, and other far reaching government policies that are the true causes. However, I think your approach is more manageable for the scope of the assignment and is probably more in line with Wikipedia guidelines. Some of the intersectional factors we discussed in class may be too complex for what we're trying to do with these Wikipedia updates. I think you really did a good job of taking a huge topic and honing in on irrefutable ways to make this article better.