“Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle” The article, “Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle” written by Katherine Beckett, Kris Nyrop, and Lori Pfingst is about how the racialization of imagery surrounding drugs has had a major impact on institutional effects that shape police perception and practices. These effects could be the cause of the racial disparity that characterizes drug possession in Seattle. The writers begin by introducing some statistics where it is seen that there is a high number of blacks and latinos in prison for drug charges. They also present the two ways that racial disparity in drug arrest rates is explained by. The first is that …show more content…
This goes along with what is stated in the second article I read where it is shown that through the surveys the authors made, blacks were twice as likely to report having some contact with the police. However this possibility of more frequent contact with the police is not due to to more criminal involvement, but instead is not explicable in terms of legal factors. The continuos focus of law enforcement on minorities who are more closely associated with crack cocaine causes the racial disparity that is seen in data presented by Beckett and her colleagues, which enforces their main argument that racialization of imagery surrounding drugs has had long term institutional and cultural effects that continue to shape police perception and practices. In other words the reality is that there is a racial bias in law enforcement whether it be like the article, “Racial Disparity In Police Contacts” states that more than likely blacks were in contact with law enforcement due to their neighborhoods having more policing. Or as, “Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle” shows that focus on outdoor drugs operations and minority populations is a ineffective way of combatting the general drug problem due to these groups not having the most legal factors against there …show more content…
It goes into detail how all the assumptions of why racial disparity exists are incorrect and it does so by presenting the reader with reliable data and sources. There is so much credible data that it leaves no room for doubt and the reader is safe knowing that what they just read is a well written informational and educational piece. And in a topic as sensitive as racial disparity, where emotions can get ahold of people sometimes, the authors are not shy in stating, in a very professional matter, that racial disparity is not just a by product of the system but is indeed embedded in
The Cocaine Kids and Dorm Room Dealers are two very different, but yet similar books. Cocaine Kids are about a group of kids, primarily of Hispanic race, with one kid of the Black race. The kids were raised in the inner city of New York. Dorm Room Dealers are about White, middle to upper-middle class college students, who was selling drugs for their status. The purpose of this paper is to prove that there are racial disparities among drug users. There will be examples from the texts that show the different takes on the drug markets and how race plays a factor. There also will be how these experiences shape the kids drug dealing and using. The paper will conclude how all the kids either remained in the drug career or left the drug career.
Human rights experts have reported that in the 70s, African Americans in the U.S were already being overrepresented in drug arrests, with twice as many arrests as Caucasians (Fellner, 2009). Since the war on drugs began, African
One policy one could examine to see its implications on incarceration rates in the United States is the “War on Drugs.” This war has taken place since the Nixon administration in the 1970s, and aims to eliminate the possession, importation, and solicitation of illegal substances. This war has multiple fronts in which people are currently fighting, but the domestic theatre of war is a culprit for this rise of incarceration rates. Bobo and Thompson examined this phenomenon and found, “rapid increase in incarceration rates can be traced to the "War on Drugs" and associated sentencing practices” (451). The “War on Drugs” can be seen taking place in predominately urban impoverished African-American communities. As a result, more African-Americans are being arrested for drug crimes, whether they be petty possession misdemeanor crimes or more serious felony solicitation of illegal substance crimes. Further, since these areas are more impoverished, individuals will look for other ways in order to generate income in order to support themselves and their
The targets of the drug war are certain racial groups just because they are of color, they are targets because the law enforcements have bias opinions about the people of color rather than those who are white.The people of color and whites are both as likely to use and sell drugs, but the people of color have a bigger probability to get arrested, searched, prosecuted, convicted or sent to jail for the violation of drug laws. The drug war isn't only about people of color, it is about every races including white. The enforcement does not look for the increasing of drug activity because But the law enforcement doesn’t focus on the high income neighborhoods in search for drugs, what they do is focus on the poor low income neighborhoods because that is where they think drugs are being abused. The drug policies are very discriminatory and attack those that are non white, or those who live in a neighborhood where everyone thinks drugs are abused there. According to the article “Race, Drugs, and Law Enforcement in the United States” it uses statistics from seattle that shows a clear example of the discrimination of the supposed war on drugs.“A recent study in Seattle is illustrative. Although the majority of those who shared, sold, or transferred serious drugs[17]in Seattle are white (indeed seventy percent of the general Seattle population is white), almost two-thirds (64.2%) of drug arrestees are black”(hrw.org 1). This quote shows what a study found in seattle, that the population in seattle is seventy percent but most of the people in jail are blacks. Seattle has a problem where cocaine and crack are the main drug being abused and sold, but the people who sell it the most is whites but the majority who end up in jail for cocaine or crack charges are african americans. Well this happens because black people do drugs but also white people, but the ones who are the victims of incarceration are
Brent Staples (1999) stated in the article that we only see drug busts in the ghetto and never in the suburbs. This leads to more suspicions on African-Americans, which then leads to more arrests. The author found only 5 arrests are made for every 100 white addicts, but 20 arrests for every 100 black addicts, while the utmost conservative estimates suggest that white intravenous drug users outnumber black users by at least 5 to 1. Cracking down on the ghettos and arresting African-Americans will only reinforce the stereotype that blacks are drug addicts. This will then lead to more arrests every time they are caught with any type of drugs, while a white person could be given a warning for the same charges. This will only make African-Americans more vigilant and scared to go out in public with peace of mind without having to look over their shoulders and for them to operate out without having to worry about getting arras for any stop and search. I only know this as I’ve seen this before. I was at Venice beach with a couple of my friends one afternoon, and an officer stopped two black males on the sidewalk. They happened to have weed on them; the officer arrested them and took them in. A few minutes later, a white male was walking and holding hands with his girlfriend, another officer stopped them and they happen to have weed on them too, I watched as the officer only gave them a ticket. This proves that African-Americans have a higher chance of getting arrested for the same drug charges compare to white. This will only put African-Americans at much higher risk of getting arrested and put in jail. Only the negative information is being shared on the media never the
With everything in life, we can work to fix injustices and a problem in society, but trying to fix what was wrong not only takes time, but also may be imperfect. As mentioned previously race played and still does play a large role in how crime is treated in the United States. This article explains how the racial disparity is not a coincidence and the article provides facts of the disparity, and what the Fair Sentencing Act does. The author begins the article by chronologically exploring the details of how the disparity began. The Anti- Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which was introduced in the Reagan-era, was responsible for the disparity. The Act stated that 1 gram of cocaine was equal to 100 grams of crack (Davis 2011). An extremely large difference. She ends the article explaining that despite the fact that there is a decrease in the ratio, it is still unfair. The Fair Sentencing Act only works to reduce the disparity and does not eliminate it completely (Davis 2011). While the ratio was once 100-1(crack to cocaine), the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 brought it down to 18-1.
Aside from individuals who were actually convicted of a felony, the tens of millions of Americans who were arrested without ever being convicted for a crime are no exception to this form of legalized discrimination as the same constraints applied to convicted felons are unfairly applied to them as well (Alexander 145). When it comes to felon discrimination, the severity of the felony does not matter. Public housing policies deny eligibility to people who have even the most minor criminal backgrounds. Due to the fact that people of color such as African Americans and Hispanics are primary targets of police in the War on Drugs, they are much more likely to be arrested for minor, nonviolent crimes as opposed to people who are white (Alexander 145). Instead of racial discrimination being nonexistent in present society, Michelle Alexander argues that racial discrimination has merely been extended to occur through subliminally discriminative colorblind practices (Alexander 11). The criminal justice system still targets racial minorities and deprives them of basic human rights by permitting legalized discrimination, such as the discrimination existent in public housing seen by the usage of racially restrictive covenants in the past, and by the
The past quarter century of American history has been profoundly impacted by the “war on drugs.” Ever since the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 was passed by President Richard Nixon, the number of yearly incarcerations for drug violations has grown exponentially. America’s drug policies have cost billions of dollars and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Americans, yet rates of drug, property, and violent crime have failed to decrease. Yassaman Saadatmand summates the consequences of Nixon’s policies: “Not only has the drug war failed to reduce violent and property crime, but it has also shifted criminal justice resources (the police, courts, prisons, probation officers, etc.) away from directly fighting violent and property crime.” The issue is further complicated by racial inequalities in the rates of drug use and crime. Whereas Whites consist the majority of the population of any state, they are outnumbered by African-Americans in both state and federal prisons (E. Ann Carson 2013). This incongruity is paralleled with many other races, such as an overrepresentation of Native Americans and an underrepresentation of Asians in rates of drug use. What causes this imbalance? What purpose do the higher rates of incarceration for certain minorities serve? As this topic is explored, it becomes evident that the racial disparity in drug crime is perpetuated by America’s legacy of bigotry and racism, capitalism, and a cycle of poverty.
Racial disparity in drug related convictions has been a wide spread problem in the United States since the War on Drugs in the early 1980s. It was prevalent before that time, but minorities became the target of drug related crimes in startling numbers at this time. There are several hypotheses for this alarming situation, but the bottom line remains that racism is the leading cause of racial disparity in drug related convictions. Minorities from inner cities, with low-incomes and socioeconomic statuses who get caught in a downward spiral, are the easiest targets for the government to point the finger at for drug problems in the United States. The statistics will show that while more White people use illicit drugs in the United States, more African Americans and other minorities will be convicted, and more harshly than their White counterparts, for the same crimes.
Professor’s comment: This essay assignment was designed to equip students with an understanding of academic research, theories, and concepts on race relations and then use that as a basis from which to critically think about, analyze, and develop strategies for change, both for themselves and for the world around them.
Another reason racialized mass incarceration takes place is because of the high rates of poverty and unemployment for inner city African Americans, especially those with low-education and low skill levels. Urban ghettos have been associated with the problem of social disorganization and crime. The biggest reason for this is the war on drugs. There is no substantial proof that verifies African Americans are more involved in illegal drug consumptions than other groups are. However they are arrested more than other groups. Bobo and Thompson stated that blacks are almost 34% involved in drug-related arrests though only 14% of those are among regular illegal drug users. Among drug related convictions, African Americans make up half of the cases whereas only 26% of the white population is convicted. As Bobo and Thompson stated, “Illegal drug consumption seems to know no race. Incarceration for drug-related charges, however, is something visited in a heavily biased manner on African Americans.”
In short, it highlights the racial dimensions of the War on Drugs and argues about the main reasons why so many black men are being wrongfully held behind bars. It also examines the rights that are taken away from them and how the government is stopping them from becoming normal members of society on the inside and outside. Convicted felons cannot vote for life, and wrongfully convicted felons cannot vote for life. As a result of their criminality, they are legally discriminated against in their ability to obtain housing, employment, education, and public benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. Rather than combat drug activity, the War on Drugs has served as a deliberate strategy to control people of color and remove them from the political process, which is racist in both application and
One, the drug war is aimed at eliminating big-time drug dealers. Two, the war on drugs is eradicating dangerous drugs. Throughout the book, Alexander refuted both of these common misconceptions about the war on drugs. According to study conducted by Ryan King and Marc Meur, they found 80 percent of drug arrest in the 1990s was for marijuana. While it is arguable marijuana is far less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, is it is illegal and people should not do it. However, what is interesting about marijuana is the stigma associated with it. According to Alexander, marijuana was seen as a fearsome drug when associated with African-Americans and Latinos but was less stigmatizing when associated with Caucasians. According to book titled Unequal Under Law: Race and the War on Drugs, author Doris Marie Provine said “punishment becomes more severe when drug use is associated with people of color but softens when it is associated with whites.” An example of crime that becomes “softer” when associated with whites is drunk driving. According to The Crack Attack: America’s Latest Scare, drunk drivers accounted for 22,000 deaths in 1989. In addition to that, about 100,000 alcohol-related deaths occurred that same year. The author, Craig Reinarman, compared that statistic to the number of deaths from AIDS, drug overdose and violence associated with illegal drug trade and all three accounted for only 21,000 deaths. Drunk driving crimes are usually committed primarily by white males. According to the book, The Crack Attack: America’s Latest Scare, 78 percent of drunk drivers during 1990 were white males. During 1990, new mandatory minimums charges were created where drivers could either receive fines, license suspension, complete community service or sentenced to only two days in jail for their first offense. While on the other hand individuals who had crack cocaine, which is seen as a
Some of the most important historical developments that Beckett (1997) attributed to the politicization of criminal justice practices and policies were beginning with the civil rights movement. There was a tremendous amount of discourse occurring during this time about whether or not African Americans should have the same rights as whites. As well as, the thought that many African Americans were responsible for the increase in crime. Therefore, in the political sector we saw a power struggle between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republicans wanted to portray the issues that crime and drug use were increasing rapidly due to the way the African Americans were raised.
Beckett, K., Nyrop, K., & Pfingst, L. (2006). Race, drugs, and policing: understanding disparities in drug delivery arrests. Criminology, 44, 1, 105-137.