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

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Analysis of the patterns found in the Capitol Hill area also indicates that blacks are over-represented among drug delivery arrestees, although if Capitol Hill data are analyzed separately the observed differences do not achieve conventional levels of statistical significance. According to the results of the second wave of the needle exchange survey, 60 percent of the needle exchangers who last obtained a serious drug in Capitol Hill got it from a white person, 24.4 percent from a Latino person and only 5.9 percent from a black person. The observational study found higher levels of white involvement and lower levels of Latino involvement, but similar (and relatively low) levels of black involvement in drug delivery. Specifically, the observational study indicates that 83.6 percent of those delivering drugs in Capitol Hill were white, 9.1 percent were black, and 3.6 percent Hispanic (see Figure 13). Figure 13. Capitol Hill Deliverers and Delivery Arrestees 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Deliverers- Needle Exchange Survey Deliverers- Observational Study Delivery Arrestees 0% White Black Latino Sources: Nyrop, Demographic Comparisons of Two Public Venue Drug Markets in Seattle; 2007-2008 Seattle-King County Needle Exchange Survey, Second Wave; Seattle Police Department incident reports. Because it captures information about those who sell crack cocaine to users who do not also inject drugs, and because it focuses solely on outdoor drug activity, the observational study yields slightly higher estimates of black involvement in drug delivery than the needle exchange survey. Comparison of this data source with arrest outcomes indicates that blacks are also over-represented among Capitol Hill arrestees (although there were only 10 purposeful delivery arrests in 69
Capitol Hill—e.g. census tracts 74 and 75—during the four-month sampling period 110 ). 111 Specifically, the results of the observational study indicate that 9.1 percent of the observed deliverers were black, but 30 percent of the delivery arrestees were black. Thus, blacks were over-represented by about threefold relative to the black share of those observed engaging in drug delivery in Capitol Hill. Expressed differently, this comparison indicates that blacks are 3.9 times more likely to be arrested for delivery of a serious drug in Capitol Hill than whites engaging in the same behavior. Because the number of both transactions and especially arrests are smaller in Capitol Hill than downtown, the Z scores that measure the significance of this discrepancy did not achieve conventional levels of statistical significance. 112 However, if we combine observational and arrest data from Capitol Hill and downtown, the results indicate that blacks are highly significantly overrepresented among those arrested in these two neighborhoods as compared to those who were observed delivering drugs in same locales (see Table 16). 110 The results of the observational study indicate that observed drug transactions in the downtown area (census tract 81) outnumber those in Capitol Hill’s Broadway corridor (census tracts 74/75) per hour of observation by a ratio of 3.5 to 1. However, delivery arrests in the downtown area outnumbered drug delivery arrests in the Capitol Hill area by 6.8 to 1. Thus, there is evidence that the SPD concentrates its drug enforcement resources in the downtown area, and under-emphasizes the Capitol Hill neighborhood, in a way that is incommensurate with the distribution of even outdoor drug activity. If indoor drug activity were also considered, it is likely that this estimate of the over-representation of downtown drug delivery arrests (relative to the frequency of drug transactions) would likely be even larger: The results of the second wave of the needle exchange survey suggest that a larger share of the drug activity that takes place in Capitol Hill occurs indoors. Specifically, 26.7 percent of those who last obtained a drug in Capitol Hill got it indoors; 15.9 percent of those who last obtained a drug downtown acquired it indoors. 111 There were no purposeful drug delivery arrests involving marijuana in census tracts 74 and 75 during the four-month sampling period. 112 Z scores are based, in part, on sample size, and reflect the fact that larger sample sizes ensure greater reliability. 70
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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.
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 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 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
Page 123 and 124: Complaint: Arrival: Officer Update:
Page 126: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katherine Beckett
Page 130:
THE DEFENDER ASSOCIATION
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