Race and crime

Race is one of the correlates of crime receiving attention in academic studies, government surveys, media coverage, and public concern. Several causes of racial disparities in treatment by the criminal justice system have been tested by experts in the sociological field. A majority of their results find that a lack of financial means and low social status are likely factors motivating minorities to commit crime. Additionally, blacks and other ethnic minorities are often sentenced to more time in prison than their white counterparts.

The term racial disparity as it relates to crime can be defined as the proportion of a racial or ethnic group within the criminal justice system exceeding the proportion of such a group within the general population. People of color are more likely to be racially profiled, stopped, and harassed by the police. Racial disparities in the US criminal justice system worsened after 1980 following various political developments. The Nixon, Reagan and Bush administrations are credited for directing what is known as the War on Drugs. In 1986, the U.S. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the trafficking or possession of crack when compared to penalties for trafficking of powder cocaine, which had been widely criticized as discriminatory against minorities, mostly blacks, who were more likely to use crack than powder cocaine. Statistics from 1998 show that there were wide racial disparities in arrests, prosecutions, sentencing and deaths. African-American drug users made up for 35% of drug arrests, 55% of convictions, and 74% of people sent to prison for drug possession crimes. Nationwide, African-Americans were sent to state prisons for drug offenses 13 times more often than other races, even though they only supposedly comprised 13% of regular drug users.

Racial disparity in commission of violent crime is commonly attributed to the social status and financial means of minorities. Poverty is one factor correlated with an increase in criminal activity. The correlation between poverty and criminal activity has been shown to be independent of race, with the disproportionate number of minorities in poverty accounting for their disproportionately high levels of criminal activity. Research shows that childhood exposure to violence also significantly increases the likelihood of engagement in violent behavior. When studies control for childhood exposure to violence, black and white males in the United States are equally likely to engage in violent behavior.

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