Inner-city areas where many black and Hispanic Americans live continue to be affected by crime, guns, gangs, and drugs. At the same time, crime and drug control policies since 1980 have greatly increased the number of young minority citizens, especially males, in the criminal justice system. These phenomena undermine social policies aimed at fuller integration of disadvantaged people in society. Conservative crime control policies emphasizing harsher penalties, ostensibly designed to enhance public safety, have failed. The author discusses crime and social welfare policies and their impact on blacks, racial disproportion in the criminal justice system, and race and the war on drugs. He also examines the relationship between social adversity and criminal law, punishment, and sentencing policy and offers recommendations on how to individualize punishment and provide appropriate treatment. References, tables, and figures