A couple of things stood out at us in a recent American Civil Liberties Union report on marijuana arrests: Maryland has the fourth-highest arrest rate and third highest per-person spending on enforcement in the nation.
Those aren’t the only eyebrow-raising Maryland-specific facts and figures revealed by the report, which spans 2001 to 2010. There’s the enormous racial disparity here and across the nation.
Black people in Maryland are being targeted by law enforcement. They make up a third of the state’s population but account for 60 percent of the arrests.
The arrest rate for black people is well above the national rate, even though as many whites use marijuana.
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Targeted?!
ReplyDeleteHow accurate is the targeting?
That may help define whether it is really targeting or criminal reality!
You should check out these stats with crimes of violence and property crime. You decide.
ReplyDelete*sigh* I don't think its targeting. I think its more to do with parenting or lack of. single parent homes are higher among minorities. parents don't have the time to teach their kids like they used to.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but "non white" marijuana users are much more open with their usage. Same can be said for the younger generation, as well. Check out facebook, twitter and instagram for proof. Younger kids (15-21) posting pictures of their "score", pictures of their paraphernalia, etc. Much more brazen than older "white" users. That explains the higher percentage of arrests, not just being a target.
ReplyDeleteMore common sense = less arrests and charges.
How about the fact that most of those arrests came secondary to another offense such as disorderly conduct, assault, domestic violence, etc. Search incident to arrest usually yields the marijuana. The stats are skewed to insinuate that blacks are being targeted for marijuana possession. Not true. It's almost like saying anywhere that has a high consumption of ice cream will house a higher number of rapists.this false stat would come from the fact that ocean city sells a lot of ice cream but also has a higher number of rape reports than the rest of Maryland.
ReplyDeleteSounds like they're laying the groundwork for the race card defense. Either more white people will have to be locked up for marijuana possession or they will have to reduce (turn their heads) the number of blacks being arrested for the same crime.
ReplyDelete