Michael Smith
Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Texas at San Antonio
Key Findings
- Broken down by race, individuals arrested on drug charges in Seattle were 53.3% Black followed by 33.6% White, 6% Asian, 4.4% Hispanic, and 2.4% Native American.
- More than 21% of drug offenders had multiple drug charges.
- City wide, Blacks and Hispanics were about 1.5 and 1.4 times less likely to be arrested when compared to Whites.
- City wide, Whites were 1.2 times more likely to be arrested for drug offenses.
- In downtown Seattle, Blacks and Whites were both arrested at nearly identical rates and Hispanics were 1.4 times less likely to be arrested.
- In Capitol Hill, Blacks and Hispanics were 1.2 and 1.1 times less likely to be arrested than their White counterparts.
Description
In the article, “Race, Place, and Drug Enforcement,” Smith and his co-authors examine the incarceration of individuals for drug offenses to determine how important race and location are in sentencing. To conduct their study, the researchers used data from the Seattle Police Department’s drug arrests, drug-related citizen calls for service, and reported crimes in the Downtown and Capitol Hill locations. The data showed that broken down by race, individuals arrested on drug charges were 53.3% Black followed by 33.6% White, 6% Asian, 4.4% Hispanic, and 2.4% Native American. More than 21% of drug offenders had multiple drug charges. The results also showed that city-wide, Blacks and Hispanics were about 1.5 and 1.4 times less likely to be arrested when compared to Whites. City-wide Whites were 1.2 times more likely to be arrested for drug offenses. In the Downtown Blacks and Whites were both arrested at nearly identical rates and Hispanics were 1.4 times less likely to be arrested. In Capitol Hill, Blacks and Hispanics were 1.2 and 1.1 times less likely to be arrested than their White counterparts. The Downtown area was shown to have more drug enforcement activity than Capitol Hill. The authors note that the disparities in drug arrests seem to more based on location than police bias and race.