RACE AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF DRUG DELIVERY LAWS IN ...

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CONCLUSION The policies associated with the war on drugs are an important cause of the expansion of the U.S. criminal justice system and of growing racial disparities within it. Although racial disproportionality in drug arrests is a concern across the nation, the over-representation of blacks among drug arrestees is especially pronounced in Seattle. Indeed, only one of the other 39 mid-sized cities for which data are available has a higher black-to-white drug arrest rate ratio than that found in Seattle. Although a majority of Seattle residents who use and deliver all serious drugs (with the possible exception of crack cocaine) are white, more than two-thirds of those purposefully arrested for delivery of any serious drug in 2005–2006 were black. In 2006, the black drug arrest rate was more than 13 times higher than the white drug arrest rate; for drug delivery arrests involving serious drugs, the black arrest rate was 21 times higher and for purposeful drug delivery arrests, the black arrest rate was more than 24 times higher. Moreover, the overrepresentation of blacks among drug delivery arrestees remains large even after taking potential differences in involvement in drug delivery into account. The SPD’s focus on outdoor markets in general and the downtown area in particular modestly exacerbate racial disproportionality in drug arrests. However, the racial composition of those arrested indoors and outside of downtown is not markedly different than of those arrested outdoors and downtown. Thus, neither the focus on outdoor markets in general nor on the downtown area in particular is a fundamental cause of black over-representation among drug delivery arrestees. By contrast, the racial composition of those arrested for delivering crack cocaine is markedly different than the racial composition of those arrested for delivery of a serious drug other than crack cocaine. It is not possible to determine whether the SPD’s focus on black suspects explains the preponderance of crack cocaine deliverers among delivery arrestees, or whether its focus on crack cocaine deliverers leads to the over-representation of blacks. For the sake of caution, this analysis has assumed that the latter is the case: the SPD’s focus on those who deliver crack cocaine is a fundamental cause of the over-representation of blacks among Seattle drug delivery arrestees. Yet the focus on crack cocaine—the serious drug that is most strongly associated with blacks—does not appear to be attributable to race-neutral factors, including the frequency with which crack cocaine is exchanged, the distribution of civilian complaints, public health considerations or public safety concerns. This finding 99
supports an alternative explanation—namely, that the focus on crack cocaine reflects the association of that particular substance with blacks. Moreover, the arrest patterns documented here are highly consistent with those reported in a previous analysis. 153 The consistency of Seattle’s arrest pattern over time suggests that the SPD has been unwilling to alter the practices that have been shown to produce an usually high degree of racial disproportionality. Although colorblind on its face, the focus on crack cocaine does not appear to be a function of raceneutral considerations, and continues to produce an extraordinarily high degree of racial disparity in Seattle drug arrests. The harm associated with felony conviction and incarceration is surely exacerbated to the extent that those costs are imposed on black Seattle residents in ways that are not explained by either levels of involvement in drug delivery or other race-neutral policy considerations. 153 Beckett 2004. 100
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RACE AND DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT IN SE
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This report was commissioned as par
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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES PAGE TAB
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Figure 9. Purposeful Seattle Drug D
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SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS FINDING 1 T
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FINDING 4 The focus on crack cocain
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INTRODUCTION Less than 5 percent of
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RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SEATTLE DRUG
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Table 1. Black and White Drug Arres
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esearchers found that rates of drug
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RESEARCH DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION OF
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serious drugs in Seattle are white.
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users: “Persons at almost all lev
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as the goal is to provide samples o
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percent of white Seattle residents,
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acial/ethnic groups. These data ind
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When approaching clients, surveyors
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youth. However, these surveys likel
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80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
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or partially publicly-funded treatm
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Primary Drug of Abuse Cocaine (all
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system at the time of their death w
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did not transfer drugs to the buyer
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Insofar as many drug users knowingl
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the person who provided these subst
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Table 7. Racial and Ethnic Composit
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Table 8. Summary of Data Pertaining
Page 57 and 58: ut only 89 for methamphetamine, ecs
Page 59 and 60: time. 87 As noted previously, this
Page 61 and 62: Drug delivery arrests continue to b
Page 63 and 64: In sum, many of the arrest patterns
Page 65 and 66: Table 10. Racial Disparity in Drug
Page 68 and 69: PART III: EXPLAINING RACIAL DISPARI
Page 70 and 71: that a higher percentage of whites
Page 72 and 73: After clients had completed their s
Page 74 and 75: Table 13. Racial and Ethnic Composi
Page 76 and 77: whites engaging in the same behavio
Page 78 and 79: Analysis of the patterns found in t
Page 80 and 81: Table 16. Statistical Significance
Page 82 and 83: In sum, the evidence shows that rac
Page 84 and 85: those delivering drugs downtown wer
Page 86 and 87: for delivering a serious drug in Se
Page 88 and 89: to danger, instantaneous addiction
Page 90 and 91: 9.6 percent primarily abused other
Page 92 and 93: percent of those delivering drugs d
Page 94 and 95: officers made a drug arrest, issued
Page 96 and 97: Figure 18. Geographic Distribution
Page 98 and 99: Figure 20. Geographic Distribution
Page 100 and 101: As these maps illustrate, civilian
Page 102 and 103: and infant health by crack cocaine
Page 104 and 105: Although the crack trade has been a
Page 106: Weapons were more likely to be seiz
Page 111 and 112: Buckman, Charles, and John Lamberth
Page 113 and 114: Hagedorn, John M. 1994. “Homeboys
Page 115 and 116: Murphy, Sheigla and Dan Waldorf. 19
Page 117 and 118: Ritter, Alison. 2005. A Review of A
Page 119 and 120: United Nations International Drug C
Page 121 and 122: APPENDIX B: UNRELIABLE 9-1-1 CALL E
Page 123 and 124: Complaint: Arrival: Officer Update:
Page 126: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katherine Beckett
Page 130: THE DEFENDER ASSOCIATION
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