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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:56 pm
Time: 11:56 pm
Results for drugs and crime (seattle)
1 results foundAuthor: Beckett, Katherine Title: Race and Drug Law Enforcement in Seattle Summary: SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS The majority of those who use and deliver serious drugs in Seattle are white. • Data from multiple sources – surveys of public school students, needle exchange clients, and the general Seattle population; mortality data; drug treatment admission data; and an observational study of two outdoor Seattle drug markets – all support the conclusion that a majority of those who use and deliver serious illegal drugs with the possible exception of crack cocaine in Seattle are white. The majority of those purposefully arrested for delivering a serious drug in Seattle are black, and blacks are over-represented among drug arrestees to a greater degree than in nearly all other mid-sized cities. • Although the city population is 8 percent black, two-thirds (67 percent) of those arrested in Seattle for delivery of a serious drug in a four-month sample from 2005–2006 were black. • The black drug arrest rate in 2006 was more than 13 times higher than the white drug arrest rate. • The black drug arrest rate for delivery of a serious drug is more than 21 times higher than the white arrest rate for the same crime. • In 2006, only one of 38 comparable mid-sized cities had a higher degree of racial disproportionality in drug arrests than Seattle. The focus on crack cocaine is the fundamental cause of racial disparity in Seattle drug delivery arrests. • The over-representation of blacks among drug delivery arrestees is not primarily a function of racial differences in drug delivery. o Blacks delivering drugs downtown are 13.6 times more likely to be arrested than whites engaging in the same behavior in the same geographic area. o Blacks are over-represented by a statistically significant margin among those arrested in the Capitol Hill and University District neighborhoods. • Most blacks who are arrested for delivering serious drugs are arrested downtown and outdoors. However, the majority of those arrested in other parts of the city and indoors are also black. • The focus on crack cocaine is a fundamental cause of racial disparity in Seattle drug delivery arrests. o Nearly three-fourths (72.9 percent) of those purposefully arrested for delivery of a serious drug in 2005–2006 were arrested for delivering crack cocaine. Nearly three-fourths (73.4 percent) of those purposefully arrested for delivering crack cocaine in 2005– 2006 were black. o By contrast, fewer than 20 percent of those arrested for delivery of a serious drug other than crack were black. The focus on crack cocaine is not a function of race-neutral policy considerations. • Powder cocaine and ecstasy are the most widely used serious drugs in Seattle. • More Seattle residents are admitted to public drug treatment programs for heroin abuse than for crack cocaine abuse. Heroin users also report making more frequent purchases than crack cocaine users. The frequency with which crack cocaine is exchanged thus does not explain the over-representation of crack cocaine among Seattle drug arrestees. • The focus on crack cocaine is not a function of public health considerations. Although crack cocaine use poses health risks, other serious drugs, especially heroin and other opiates, are more likely to be associated with drug-related mortality and infectious disease. • The focus on crack cocaine is not a function of public safety risks. Among Seattle serious drug arrestees, those involved with crack cocaine were least likely to have a dangerous weapon in their possession at the time of their arrest. • The focus on crack is not a consequence of civilian complaints about that particular substance: there is little geographic correspondence between complaints and delivery arrests, and most complainants do not identify the drug involved. Moreover, most civilian complaints about drug activity do not result in arrest, and most arrests do not involve a civilian complainant. • The degree to which blacks are over-represented among drug arrestees in Seattle continues to be large relative to other mid-sized cities. • Black over-representation in Seattle drug delivery arrests is primarily a function of the focus on crack cocaine. • The focus on crack cocaine does not appear to be attributable to the frequency with which crack cocaine is exchanged, civilian complaints, public health or public safety considerations. • Although colorblind on its face, the focus on crack cocaine does not appear to be a function of race-neutral considerations and continues to produce an unusually high degree of racial disparity in Seattle drug arrests. Details: Seattle, WA: American Civil Liberties Union and The Defender Association, 2008. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 9, 2012 at: http://faculty.washington.edu/kbeckett/Race%20and%20Drug%20Law%20Enforcement%20in%20Seattle_2008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://faculty.washington.edu/kbeckett/Race%20and%20Drug%20Law%20Enforcement%20in%20Seattle_2008.pdf Shelf Number: 125522 Keywords: Drug EnforcementDrugs and Crime (Seattle)Race and CrimeRacial Disparities |