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

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After clients had completed their syringe exchange activities they were approached by an interviewer and asked if they were willing to do a very brief anonymous and confidential survey that was being done for the local public defender’s office. The survey response rate in the “second wave” was very similar to that obtained in the first wave: 68.8 percent of those exchanging needles took the survey. The racial/ethnic composition of those who took the survey was similar to the racial/ethnic composition of those who declined to do so. 103 The results of this survey provide information about 307 drug transactions that occurred downtown. 104 Of those who last obtained a drug downtown, the majority (70.4 percent) reported last obtaining heroin, 11.7 percent last obtained heroin and cocaine (together), 10.7 percent last obtained crack cocaine and 5.5 percent last obtained powder cocaine. More than three-fourths (78.5 percent) of these transactions were reported to have occurred outdoors, 16 percent took place indoors and another 5.2 percent took place in vehicles. The results of this survey thus indicate that needle exchangers most often obtain heroin in the downtown area, and that the majority of these transactions occur outdoors. The results also indicate that a clear majority of those selling the drugs used by needle exchangers (mostly heroin) are white; only 12 percent of the downtown transactions involved a black drug supplier. This pattern remains consistent even if we limit our attention to outdoor transactions (see Table 12). 103 Specifically, those surveyed were 10.3 percent black, 79.6 percent white, 5.6 percent Latino, and 2.9 percent American Indian/Alaska Native. Those who declined to take a survey were 11.4 percent black, 72.8 percent white, 9.2 percent Latino and 5.4 percent American Indian/Alaska Native. Although the overall response rate for blacks (66.7 percent) was slightly lower than for whites (70.7 percent) downtown, the response rate for blacks and whites was nearly identical (66 percent and 65.3 percent respectively). Moreover, over 90 percent of all blacks who exchanged needles and completed the survey did so downtown. 104 Two of those surveyed reported last obtaining marijuana downtown; these transactions are not included in order to ensure comparability with arrest outcomes. 63
Table 12. Racial and Ethnic Composition of Downtown Drug Deliverers, Seattle-King County Needle Exchange Survey Results Outdoor Transactions (n=241) Indoor Transactions (n=49) All Transactions (n= 307) White Black Hispanic/ Latino Native American/ Alaska Native Asian 49.8% 12.9% 25.7% 1.2% 3.7% 53.1% 10.2% 10.2% 4.1% 6.1% 51.5% 12.1% 22.8% 1.6% 3.9% Source: 2007–2008 Seattle-King County Needle Exchange Survey, Second Wave. Note: 16 transactions took place in a vehicle and another 1 occurred in an unidentified location. Analyzing the results by drug type makes evident that a clear majority of the needle exchangers who last obtained heroin downtown were supplied it by a white person. Transactions involving cocaine and heroin together or crack cocaine were more likely to involve a black or Latino supplier. A plurality of those who last obtained powder cocaine got it from a person they identified as Latino or Hispanic (see Table 13). In short, the needle exchange survey data thus provide additional evidence that the majority of needle exchangers who last obtained drugs downtown primarily abuse heroin, and that the majority of those who provide them with that drug are white. The observational study also provides information about the racial composition of those delivering drugs outdoors downtown, and specifically in the area surrounding the Pike-Pine corridor west of Fifth Avenue (census tract 81). This area is unusually important, as over one-fourth of all the purposeful delivery arrests involving serious drugs took place in this one census tract. Unlike the needle exchange survey, the observational study captures information about those who supply crack cocaine users (who do not also inject drugs) with crack cocaine. Moreover, the observational study captures only those who deliver drugs outdoors, and therefore likely underestimates white involvement in drug delivery. However, because the observers were not always able to identify the substance being sold, the results cannot be analyzed by drug. 64
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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
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 and 54: Table 7. Racial and Ethnic Composit
Page 55 and 56: 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 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 109 and 110: supports an alternative explanation
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
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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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