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by Ezekiel Edwards
DMIBlog
With the NYPD facing difficult challenges such as combating terrorism and stopping the flow of illegal handguns into the city, what are the police arresting people for at a rate ten times greater than before 1997? Marijuana.
But they aren’t arresting everyone who possesses marijuana; only poor people of color.
When confronted with statistics demonstrating the grossly disproportionate arrest rates of African Americans, often conservatives are quick to respond that African Americans commit more crimes.
But then how would they explain the epidemic of marijuana arrests in New York City over the past ten years, a plague of over-policing that has swept up poor people of color, sending Blacks and Hispanics to jail for misdemeanor marijuana offenses at rates far greater than those of whites, even though, according to the U.S. government, whites use more marijuana per capita than Blacks and Hispanics? If you don’t think such arrests ever happen, you might be surprised to learn that in the last ten years, New York City has arrested more people for marijuana than any city, not just in New York State, not just in the Northeast, not just in America, but in the entire world.
Filed under: New York State Politics, social & economic justice Tagged: | african-aemrican, Criminal Justice, drug war, hispanic, marijuana, new york city, profiling, racism
Yes its well known. I was arrested for simply being around some friends who had weed. It was a small roach LOL.. and they took us in for 18 hours just to get the case dismissed. GOOD JOB NYPD LOL
When you have more people of color who commit more crimes , then do the math & stop making excuses.
Dear T Maloney,
Please read the article. More Minorities are not committing the “crimes” of using illegal drugs. More White people are. The White People just are not arrested or convicted. What does that math tell you? What’s your excuse for that?
peace
Ian