Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Blacks are arrested in far greater amounts than whites for marijuana use, why is that?
You have to get caught possessing weed in order to be arrested for it. Where do you think police spend the most time? In upper-income white neighborhoods where there is hardly any crime, or in low-income black neighborhoods with rampant crime?
I personally think all drugs should be decriminalized, but the police's job is to fight crime and enforce the law. In order to do that, they need to be where the crime actually is. A heavier police presence where you live is generally going to make it more likely that, if you're doing something illegal, you're going to get caught. That may not really be "fair," but if the notion is that everyone should have the same chance of not getting caught committing a crime as everyone else, then that notion is rather ridiculous and completely impractical. What is the alternative? Waste time policing neighborhoods where there is very little crime, thereby allowing a greater percentage of crime to go uncaught just so you can make the numbers come out a little better? Unless a police officer violates your constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure, or otherwise violates the law in order to catch you doing something illegal (e.g. entrapment laws), then you have no legitimate beef.
Additionally, a high percentage of drugs charges are the result of arrests or investigations for other crimes. If a cop has a warrant out for your arrest, searches your car, and finds weed, then you're most likely going to get a drug charge. If a call is placed for a domestic disturbance and people have been smoking weed in the house, you're probably going to get a drug charge. If you get pulled over after smoking a joint because your license plate comes back as belonging to a stolen vehicle, you're probably going to get a drug charge. Hence, groups with higher overall arrest rates would be expected to also have a higher number of drug charges with all else (including usage rates) being equal. If you look at FBI Table 43, black people are arrested at more than twice the rate of whites. They're arrested at around 4 times the rate for felonies, 6 times the rate for murders, 6 times the rate for robberies, etc. and these discrepancies cannot be explained away as more discrimination considering that
A. They're corroborated by the FBI's crime victimization surveys.
B. The crimes in which discrimination is much less likely to be a factor, like homicide, tend to be the most disproportionate.
Not to mention other factors - if you live in the boonies you're much less likely to get caught smoking weed than if you live in a housing complex where the smoke seeps through the walls and the neighbors call the cops.
Saying that black people and white people should necessarily be arrested at a similar rate for weed simply because they use weed at a similar rate is like saying that black people and white people should be equally likely to make it to the NBA because they're equally likely to play basketball. It is a non sequitur.
Having said all that, let's say for argument's sake that cops are letting a large number of white people go for drug possession, while not giving the same breaks to black people caught possessing drugs, and that this is the cause of the different rates of arrest. The obvious solution would then be to enforce the law more strictly for white people caught in possession of drugs - which helps black people how? Or should police simply selectively and arbitrarily enforce the law by letting every 2nd black person caught in possession of drugs go free in an attempt to balance the scales?
Last edited by EugeneOnegin; 03-29-2016 at 06:49 PM..
No, the answer is to leave people the **** alone that are not harming anyone.
I agree 100%, but it is the legislative bodies' job to write the laws, it is the police's job to enforce the laws that are on the books. Though they do it to some extent, the police are not allowed to pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.
I agree 100%, but it is the legislative bodies' job to write the laws, it is the police's job to enforce the laws that are on the books. Though they do it to some extent, the police are not allowed to pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.
You have to get caught possessing weed in order to be arrested for it. Where do you think police spend the most time? In upper-income white neighborhoods where there is hardly any crime, or in low-income black neighborhoods with rampant crime?
I personally think all drugs should be decriminalized, but the police's job is to fight crime and enforce the law. In order to do that, they need to be where the crime actually is. A heavier police presence where you live is generally going to make it more likely that, if you're doing something illegal, you're going to get caught. That may not really be "fair," but if the notion is that everyone should have the same chance of not getting caught committing a crime as everyone else, then that notion is rather ridiculous and completely impractical. What is the alternative? Waste time policing neighborhoods where there is very little crime, thereby allowing a greater percentage of crime to go uncaught just so you can make the numbers come out a little better? Unless a police officer violates your constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure, or otherwise violates the law in order to catch you doing something illegal (e.g. entrapment laws), then you have no legitimate beef.
Additionally, a high percentage of drugs charges are the result of arrests or investigations for other crimes. If a cop has a warrant out for your arrest, searches your car, and finds weed, then you're most likely going to get a drug charge. If a call is placed for a domestic disturbance and people have been smoking weed in the house, you're probably going to get a drug charge. If you get pulled over after smoking a joint because your license plate comes back as belonging to a stolen vehicle, you're probably going to get a drug charge. Hence, groups with higher overall arrest rates would be expected to also have a higher number of drug charges with all else (including usage rates) being equal. If you look at FBI Table 43, black people are arrested at more than twice the rate of whites. They're arrested at around 4 times the rate for felonies, 6 times the rate for murders, 6 times the rate for robberies, etc. and these discrepancies cannot be explained away as more discrimination considering that
A. They're corroborated by the FBI's crime victimization surveys.
B. The crimes in which discrimination is much less likely to be a factor, like homicide, tend to be the most disproportionate.
Not to mention other factors - if you live in the boonies you're much less likely to get caught smoking weed than if you live in a housing complex where the smoke seeps through the walls and the neighbors call the cops.
Saying that black people and white people should necessarily be arrested at a similar rate for weed simply because they use weed at a similar rate is like saying that black people and white people should be equally likely to make it to the NBA because they're equally likely to play basketball. It is a non sequitur.
Having said all that, let's say for argument's sake that cops are letting a large number of white people go for drug possession, while not giving the same breaks to black people caught possessing drugs, and that this is the cause of the different rates of arrest. The obvious solution would then be to enforce the law more strictly for white people caught in possession of drugs - which helps black people how? Or should police simply selectively and arbitrarily enforce the law by letting every 2nd black person caught in possession of drugs go free in an attempt to balance the scales?
Yes blacks are arrested in greater numbers for felonys as a percentage but that doesn't come close to addressing the rather enormous disparate statistics regarding marijuana. Living in the boonies, please there are plenty of upper middle/upper class white users in big cities.
Over 50% of drug arrrests of blacks are solely for marijuana, how do you reconcile that number.
Her advisement letter was not instructing police to leave people alone who aren't harming anyone though, it advised them to use community service or "amnesty days" for minor crimes in lieu of fines and arrest warrants.
This has been the push all along, as I have said. They want to let certain groups be exempt from legal punishment. You can see how well the "hands off" approach worked in Baltimore and other riots.
This, and the push to empty prisons of even violent offenders, are more reasons for people to arm themselves.
Over 50% of drug arrrests of blacks are solely for marijuana, how do you reconcile that number.
According to the ACLU, 52% of all drug arrests are for marijuana. But as I said, police tend to patrol the areas where the crime is. There could be differences in usage habits, e.g. smoking in your house by yourself carries with it a vastly lower likelihood of getting caught than doing road trips, smoking at parties, smoking outside in urban areas. Walking around in public reaking of weed. If you smoke in the privacy of your home and aren't blaring music or doing anything else to draw attention, then you're very unlikely to get caught. If your license plate lights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signals are all working, your plates are up to date, you have a valid registration and your windows aren't tinted, then you're much less likely to get pulled over. If you don't have any warrants and you have a valid driver's license then you're much less likely to have your car searched or impounded (and then searched to catalog contents). The more risk-taking behavior you engage in the more likely you are to get caught.
Whites are 63% of the population and about 67% of drug arrests. Asians are roughly 5% of the population and about 0.8% of drug arrests. That means Asians are more than 6 times more likely to be arrested on drug charges, yet according to SAMSHA.gov whites are only about 2 times more likely to use drugs. Is that evidence of widespread racial discrimination against whites? It is the same argument.
According to the ACLU, 52% of all drug arrests are for marijuana. But as I said, police tend to patrol the areas where the crime is. There could be differences in usage habits, e.g. smoking in your house by yourself carries with it a vastly lower likelihood of getting caught than doing road trips, smoking at parties, smoking outside in urban areas. Walking around in public reaking of weed. If you smoke in the privacy of your home and aren't blaring music or doing anything else to draw attention, then you're very unlikely to get caught. If your license plate lights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signals are all working, your plates are up to date, you have a valid registration and your windows aren't tinted, then you're much less likely to get pulled over. If you don't have any warrants and you have a valid driver's license then you're much less likely to have your car searched or impounded (and then searched to catalog contents). The more risk-taking behavior you engage in the more likely you are to get caught.
Whites are 63% of the population and about 67% of drug arrests. Asians are roughly 5% of the population and about 0.8% of drug arrests. That means Asians are more than 6 times more likely to be arrested on drug charges, yet according to SAMSHA.gov whites are only about 2 times more likely to use drugs. Is that evidence of widespread racial discrimination against whites? It is the same argument.
Your chart indicates that blacks and whites pretty close as users of marijuana yet the arrest rate for blacks is almost 4 times higher and your explanation is usage habits, that's a stretch?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
