Whites Deal More Drugs, Blacks Are More Often Arrested For It
- 10 years ago
Studies show that white people sell more drugs than black people do, yet black individuals are arrested for it more often.
An analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggested whites were approximately 45% more likely to sell drugs than blacks in 1980, which correlated with additional studies in later years.
An analysis of crime statistics, however, reveals that blacks more often end up being charged with the offense.
In fact, incarceration on drug-related activities has increased dramatically over the past few decades.
Experts believe that overall a lot of the issue has to do with how the transactions are handled.
White communities do their trading indoors, but in black neighborhoods, particularly poorer ones, business is conducted outside where getting caught is more likely.
While that sounds like a simple enough explanation many point out that it’s loaded with other issues.
One of them is that, as a result of drug related citizen complaints, a lot of black neighborhoods have a larger than usual police presence.
As a chairman with St. Petersburg, Florida NAACP pointed out, "If all you do is fish in a black pond, you are going to get black fish.''
Further, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program, at the Brookings Institution, asserts that the staggering number of drug-related arrests among blacks shows that despite claims to the contrary, there is racial fallout from the ‘war on drugs’.
An analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggested whites were approximately 45% more likely to sell drugs than blacks in 1980, which correlated with additional studies in later years.
An analysis of crime statistics, however, reveals that blacks more often end up being charged with the offense.
In fact, incarceration on drug-related activities has increased dramatically over the past few decades.
Experts believe that overall a lot of the issue has to do with how the transactions are handled.
White communities do their trading indoors, but in black neighborhoods, particularly poorer ones, business is conducted outside where getting caught is more likely.
While that sounds like a simple enough explanation many point out that it’s loaded with other issues.
One of them is that, as a result of drug related citizen complaints, a lot of black neighborhoods have a larger than usual police presence.
As a chairman with St. Petersburg, Florida NAACP pointed out, "If all you do is fish in a black pond, you are going to get black fish.''
Further, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program, at the Brookings Institution, asserts that the staggering number of drug-related arrests among blacks shows that despite claims to the contrary, there is racial fallout from the ‘war on drugs’.