Summary of the Study
The Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the reviewed article is to analyze and identify the reasons for the racial discrepancy in the arrests of drug traffickers. The study uses data analysis from two sources, the first being the current National Survey of Drug Use. Identification of the reasons that are key in the emergence of racist attitudes in arrests can help treat different groups of the population without prejudice in the future. The ratio of how many people were arrested for illegal drug use and comparing that to the number of people arrested can help reveal a racial discrepancy. The research question is to find out why blacks and Spaniards experience high rates of drug arrests. In addition, another challenge is to find out whether racist bias affects investigations and arrests for the distribution of drugs.
The Researchers’ Hypotheses
In conducting the study, the authors hypothesized that there were more arrests among blacks and Hispanics due to the biased attitude of the police toward them. This theory was reinforced by previous research on the unfairness of arrests of blacks. The researchers analyzed many papers that helped identify the reasons for the injustice in the arrests of different population groups (Beckett et al., 2006). In addition, literary sources helped the authors to draw a dichotomy between convicts after a detailed investigation and those cases where the police did not have exhaustive evidence of the suspect’s guilt. Some work has shown a relationship between predominantly black neighborhoods and levels of drug-related crime. Thus, researchers can put forward hypotheses based on the analyzed papers. The authors’ previous studies on drug arrest ratios and the effect of race on this support the theories put forward.
The Methods of the Study
Research methods consisted of the analysis of arrests and their correlation with race. In the methodology, the authors refer to some other studies that have been carried out to ascertain whether arrests, in general, are dependent on legal grounds. An important part of the research methodology is the analysis of previous work comparing the ratio of drug arrests to those belonging to a particular ethnic group (Beckett et al., 2006). This approach allows the authors to fully evaluate all the components that affect the conduct of detentions. In addition, the paper compares the indicators of criminal activity in neighborhoods with the level of arrests and demographic data. The study collates figures from various sources and police databases to provide a mixed picture of the various offenses and involvement of blacks and Hispanics.
For greater objectivity of the study, the authors relied on surveys conducted by the Seattle Needle Exchange Survey. The survey participants were people detained for drug trafficking. This survey was related to the identification of potential causes of drug distribution and the persons involved in this activity. During the experiment, the authors used questionnaires that were filled out by those arrested for the distribution of drugs. They contained questions about various personal and social aspects of the life of the suspects, such as the sources of drugs and the reasons for their criminal activities. In total, 589 surveys were conducted as part of this experiment, which witnessed more than 900 transactions of illegal substances. The surveys were able to identify the complex drug supply chains in Seattle and analyze how they are distributed in order to fight more effectively. The ethnic composition of the survey showed that the ratio of poor and black drug dealers is almost the same, with an error of several per cent.
The Findings of the Study
The article summarizes the analysis of many works according to which racial indicators prevailed in the arrest for the distribution of narcotic substances. The authors came to the conclusion that the racial and ethnic origin of those people who are involved in the distribution of drugs is a consequence of the illegality of the drug trade. The conclusions reached by the researchers partially confirmed the authors’ hypothesis. Some of the arrests were due to police prejudice but also because blacks were more likely to trade on the streets, making them easier to catch. The findings of the study indicate that the majority of distributors of all types of drugs, such as methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, are white. However, 64 per cent of those arrested for drug distribution are black, which reveals a significant inequality in this process. For this, the authors identified several reasons, one of which is the strong focus of law enforcement on disclosing crack shipments. The second factor contributing to racial inequality is that most arrests occur on the streets. During this time, most whites distributed drugs within certain premises or neighborhoods. The third factor is that the behavior of whites on the streets is not as well monitored and, therefore, cannot be fully controlled.
Critique of the Study
The Implications of the Study
The significance of the findings lies in the fact that the authors revealed the reasons for the inequality of detention of blacks. The first consequence of this work was to reduce the influence of the police in certain areas of Seattle. According to Piza & Connealy (2022), such a system was implemented in Seattle in 2020 but had negative consequences. Due to the fact that the police did not regulate offenses in several blocks near Capitol Hill, the crime rate increased significantly. This may indicate that the relaxation of police supervision will not affect the improvement of the public behavior of citizens. Moreover, as practice shows, such a policy can reduce the number of detentions, but this will not change the situation with racism. Such actions can significantly undermine public safety and, therefore, are undesirable.
The second consequence that the study led to was an improvement in the control and improvement of migration policy. According to Camplain et al. (2020), migration is the main driver behind detentions, as people from outside the country cannot always be qualified as perpetrators. In such cases, the police detain people belonging to racial minorities without evidence of their guilt. Because of this, many African Americans and Hispanics cannot feel safe, even as law-abiding citizens. Changes in migration policy made it possible to prevent the flow of migrants into the country whose past could be connected with the drug trade. Thus, the decline in racially biased arrests is reduced due to a decrease in the flow of criminal figures.
The third introduced change, which was preceded by the study, is the desire to improve the quality of life in individual criminogenic areas. Since most of the arrest cases have shown that the main reason for illegal activities is a dysfunctional living environment, the implementation of programs to improve the quality of life can significantly affect the solution to this problem. For further research, the authors propose a direction that will consider the specific causes of uneven arrests and look for ways to eliminate them.
Strengths of the Study
Researchers have done detailed work to collect and analyze data regarding racial disparities in drug arrests. In this way, they managed to significantly expand the problem being investigated and eliminate many of the shortcomings in the papers that existed at that time. The first example of how the authors better understood the problem can be considered the conduct of interviews with detainees. This allowed them to be interviewed about why they chose the activity of drug dealing and, as a result, to better understand the prerequisites for the illegal activities that many young people in Seattle are involved in. Thus, this opens up new opportunities for further research on inequality in arrests.
The second strong side of the work is to conduct visual statistical analyses according to which groups of the population and where exactly are arrested. This revealed that blacks and Hispanics were arrested significantly more often for dealing drugs on the streets than indoors. Because of this, the possibility of detecting such illegal transactions is greatly increased. In addition, unfair arrest rates can complicate matters where drugs are not diversified. However, the paper analyzed that most of all drugs pass through whites. In this regard, it was important to find out the exact reason why in most cases, the police blame blacks and Hispanics for illegal trafficking.
The third strength is that the authors extensively analyze previously written works to create a methodological basis for their research. This can help scientists determine which aspects of the topic under study have remained undisclosed and require special attention. The authors solved the problem of missing literature by expanding the search for sources and were able to harmoniously connect the topics of previous works with what they investigated in their paper. The thing that I especially liked about the study is the large number of charts created that clearly explain the information obtained.
Weaknesses of the Study
The weak side of the study can be called an incomplete selection of narcotic substances that were considered in the article. This significantly narrows the possible results of the study, as the inclusion of a broader set of drugs could have influenced the conclusions. Any important circumstances do not determine such a choice. Therefore, it is possible for implementation. Ignoring other types of drugs by the authors could show inaccurate results, and accordingly, it is worth expanding the sample of substances to improve the output data. The limitations of the conclusions due to this shortcoming are quite universal since, in most studies, the sample consists of several objects.
The second drawback of the study can be considered the limited sources of information. The authors collected data from two databases, limiting the data that could be taken into account when analyzing arrest rates in Seattle. Such methodological limitations are because it would be difficult to process too large data arrays, which would give a better result. However, this is a universal limitation since considering a wider range of information presents difficulties in calculating errors. The thing I didn’t particularly like about the study is that the authors don’t make any specific recommendations to remedy the situation.
The third disadvantage is the small number of arrestees interviewed. The article does not provide a wide sample of respondents, which is why the full picture of crime in the field of drug trafficking cannot be disclosed. In addition, the study lacks the division of respondents regarding the areas in which they conducted their activities. Without this information, it is impossible to fully analyze the demographics of drug detentions. The universality of this limitation can be assessed as low since it can be inherent only in specific studies, the indicators of which should be correlated with the area where the surveys were conducted.
Recommendations
Recommendations to eliminate the study’s shortcomings may be useful in future scientific work. In this case, improvements may relate primarily to conducting such a study, considering those drugs that have not been given attention. In this case, the results obtained can later be compared with previous indicators to make them more objective and independent. Restrictions related to the insufficiently wide range of selected substances should be finalized since they cut off a large part of drug trafficking, which leads to the incompleteness of the study.
The second recommendation concerns expanding information sources since not only the presented databases can be used for data analysis. In order to deepen research on the subject of unfair detentions, it is important to use all available statistical information. For example, new follow-up work may include information summaries from the Drug Interaction Database program, which collects and analyzes information on pre-criminal and criminal turnover of illicit substances in Seattle.
The third improvement that can be recommended to improve the results of further research is expanding the sample of respondents to cover all areas of the city. Moreover, it is important that the questioning considers the place of residence and activities of people who were arrested for drug trafficking. Thus, the authors could deepen their understanding of the origin of illegal transactions by generating reports on the city’s most dangerous areas. This would make it possible to influence the problem directly and focus the authorities’ efforts on improving life in such neighborhoods.
References
Beckett, K., Nyrop, K., & Pfingst, L. (2006). Race, drugs, and policing: Understanding disparities in drug delivery arrests. Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 44(1), 105–137. Web.
Camplain, R., Camplain, C., Trotter, R. T., Pro, G., Sabo, S., Eaves, E., Peoples, M. & Baldwin, J. A. (2020). Racial/ethnic differences in drug-and alcohol-related arrest outcomes in a Southwest County from 2009 to 2018. American journal of public health, 110(S1), S85-S92. Web.
Piza, E., & Connealy, N. T. (2022). The Effect of the Seattle Police-Free CHOP Zone on Crime: A Microsynthetic Control Evaluation. CrimRxiv. Web.