Race, place, and drug enforcement: Reconsidering the impact of citizen complaints and crime rates on drug arrests

RS Engel, MR Smith, FT Cullen - Criminology & Pub. Pol'y, 2012 - HeinOnline
RS Engel, MR Smith, FT Cullen
Criminology & Pub. Pol'y, 2012HeinOnline
T he disproportionate incarceration of African American males drawn from inner cities has
created grave concerns about the equity of the criminal justice system (Clear, 2007; Tonry,
2011). Special worry has been voiced about the so-called war on drugs that has privileged
the aggressive targeting of drug offenders at the street level, profiling of drug traffickers, and
increased rates of incarceration and lengths of sentences among drug offenders (Alexander,
2012; Harris, 1999; Scalia, 2001). Recently, scholars have described the disproportionate …
T he disproportionate incarceration of African American males drawn from inner cities has created grave concerns about the equity of the criminal justice system (Clear, 2007; Tonry, 2011). Special worry has been voiced about the so-called war on drugs that has privileged the aggressive targeting of drug offenders at the street level, profiling of drug traffickers, and increased rates of incarceration and lengths of sentences among drug offenders (Alexander, 2012; Harris, 1999; Scalia, 2001). Recently, scholars have described the disproportionate mass incarceration of Black males, and the accompanying loss of rights and permanent stigma associated with felony convictions, as the New fim Crow (Alexander, 2012; Boyd, 2002; Buckman and Lamberth, 1999; Forman, 2012). As the first contact point with offenders, police have come under increased scrutiny as the potential sources in producing unjust racial disparities in the criminal justice system, particularly through arrests for drug offenses.
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