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

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sources over-represent the poor and therefore likely over-represent people of color. For example, TARGET data include only those admitted to publicly funded treatment programs. Nonetheless, these data sources indicate that a majority of those who use serious drugs in Seattle are white (see Table 8). Insofar as many drug users deliver drugs in the course of their using activities, and many others deliver drugs in order to maintain their drug habit, these data sources imply that the majority of user-deliverers are white. Finally, the data reviewed in this section indicate that the majority of those who deliver serious drugs in Seattle are white (see the bottom three rows of Table 8). Specifically, the SAMHSA survey, the needle exchange survey, and the observational study of the Capitol Hill and downtown markets all indicate that a majority of those who deliver drugs in Seattle are white. This pattern is especially notable given that neither the needle exchange survey nor the observational study provides information about the racial composition of those higher up in the drug distribution system. 84 Insofar as this system is stratified by race, this omission may lead to an underestimate of white involvement, and an over-estimate of black involvement, in drug distribution. In addition, the observational study includes only those who deliver drugs in outdoor venues. Nevertheless, all of the available data sources indicate that the majority of those who use and deliver serious drugs in Seattle are white. Of the three data sources that provide information about the racial and ethnic composition of those who deliver serious drugs in Seattle, only one provides information about the racial and ethnic composition of those who deliver particular drugs. Specifically, the results of the 2007–2008 Seattle-King County Needle Exchange Survey indicate that a majority of those who deliver methamphetamine, heroin and prescription drugs, and a plurality of those who deliver powder cocaine, are white. The only exception to this pattern involved crack cocaine: 17.6 percent of the needle exchange clients who had recently used crack cocaine reported obtaining that drug from a white person; larger percentages obtained their crack cocaine from a black (49.4 percent) or Latino (20 percent) person. In short, this survey provides further evidence that most of those who deliver serious drugs other than crack cocaine in Seattle are white. The next section compares this body of information with data regarding the race and ethnicity of those purposefully arrested for delivery of a serious drug in Seattle. 84 By contrast, the SAMHSA survey asks only if the respondent sold drugs in the previous year, and may therefore capture those who serve as “wholesalers” as well as “retailers.” 45
Table 8. Summary of Data Pertaining to Racial and Ethnic Composition of Seattle Users and Deliverers of All Serious Drugs White Black/ African American Latino/ Hispanic Seattle City Population American Indian/ Alaska Native Asian U.S. Census Bureau: 2000 Decennial Census U.S. Census Bureau: 2006 American Community Survey SAMHSA Survey (Past Month Users) Seattle Public School Students* Public Drug Treatment Admittees Needle Exchange Survey Ethnographic Observations 68% 8.2% 5.3% 1% 13.1% 68% 7.9% 5.9% .8% 12.9% Seattle Drug Users 63.9% NR NR NR NR 49.6% 18.7% 10% NR 13.4% 53.1% 27.8% 9.7% 2.4% 1.7% 67.7% 11% 4.4% 7.9% .2% 59.8% 28.2% 7.3% 3.1% .8% Seattle Drug Deliverers SAMHSA Survey on Drug Use and Health Needle Exchange Survey Ethnographic Observations- Downtown and Capitol Hill 76.1% NR NR NR NR 52.7% 14.3% 24.7% 1.6% 1.1% 56.8% 28.2% 12% .8% .8% Notes: “NR” indicates that the results were not reported by data collectors due to small sample sizes. Prevalence estimates from these data sources were extrapolated to the ageappropriate Seattle population using 2000 U.S. Census survey data. When extrapolating the SAMHSA Survey on Health and Drug Use, population figures for each racial group aged 14 and older were combined with half of those aged 10–14. When extrapolating the Communities of Care survey of sixth- through twelfth-grade Seattle Public School students, the number of persons aged 10–17 in each racial/ethnic group was utilized. The SAMHSA Survey on Drug Use and Health does not distinguish between those who sell marijuana and those who sell other drugs. 46
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RACE AND DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT IN SE
Page 3 and 4: This report was commissioned as par
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES PAGE TAB
Page 7 and 8: Figure 9. Purposeful Seattle Drug D
Page 10 and 11: SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS FINDING 1 T
Page 12 and 13: FINDING 4 The focus on crack cocain
Page 14 and 15: INTRODUCTION Less than 5 percent of
Page 16 and 17: RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SEATTLE DRUG
Page 18 and 19: Table 1. Black and White Drug Arres
Page 20 and 21: esearchers found that rates of drug
Page 22 and 23: RESEARCH DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION OF
Page 24: serious drugs in Seattle are white.
Page 27 and 28: users: “Persons at almost all lev
Page 29 and 30: as the goal is to provide samples o
Page 31 and 32: percent of white Seattle residents,
Page 33 and 34: acial/ethnic groups. These data ind
Page 35 and 36: When approaching clients, surveyors
Page 37 and 38: youth. However, these surveys likel
Page 39 and 40: 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Page 41 and 42: or partially publicly-funded treatm
Page 43 and 44: Primary Drug of Abuse Cocaine (all
Page 45 and 46: system at the time of their death w
Page 47 and 48: did not transfer drugs to the buyer
Page 49 and 50: Insofar as many drug users knowingl
Page 51 and 52: the person who provided these subst
Page 53: Table 7. Racial and Ethnic Composit
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
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Weapons were more likely to be seiz
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supports an alternative explanation
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Buckman, Charles, and John Lamberth
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Hagedorn, John M. 1994. “Homeboys
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Murphy, Sheigla and Dan Waldorf. 19
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Ritter, Alison. 2005. A Review of A
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United Nations International Drug C
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APPENDIX B: UNRELIABLE 9-1-1 CALL E
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Complaint: Arrival: Officer Update:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katherine Beckett
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THE DEFENDER ASSOCIATION
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