Data Shows Racial Bias in Miami-Dade, Florida Marijuana Arrests

[MMABrooklyn]

Miami Cops Can Give Out Citations, But They’re Still Arresting Black People

The data becomes even more alarming when you consider that cops have the option not to arrest someone for weed. In 2015, Miami-Dade county commissioners passed a resolution allowing police to issue citations rather than arrest and charge people possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana.


But since the change went into effect, marijuana arrests in Southern Florida have gone up. And when police do decide to issue citations rather than arrest, it’s overwhelmingly when the person in question is white.

Between July 2015 and July 2018, Miami-Dade police gave 7,268 marijuana citations to white people—out of 10,000 total citations. 2,789 of those 10,000 went to Black people. Combined with the data showing racially disproportionate arrest rates, arrests for alleged offenses that fall under the 2015 citation rule, that means a Black person is four times more likely than a white person to face arrest for minor marijuana offenses.

And while the 2015 ordinance allows officers to issue citations, it doesn’t mandate that they do. Police departments have to opt in. And the police departments that have so far refused to adopt the ticketing approach are those over-policing Black neighborhoods. So the folks who could benefit most from citations are in jurisdictions that require officers to make arrests.

This sh*t is crazy. Justice for all or Justice does not exist.


https://hightimes.com/news/data-shows-racial-bias-miami-dade-florida-marijuana-arrests/

https://www.aclufl.org/en/publicati...thnic-disparities-miami-dade-criminal-justice

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

The data becomes even more alarming when you consider that cops have the option not to arrest someone for weed. In 2015, Miami-Dade county commissioners passed a resolution allowing police to issue citations rather than arrest and charge people possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana.

Do we know if that applies to instances of parole violation.

 

[M3t4tr0n]

Does the data take in consideration that some of those people might be transracial?

 

[Trotsky]

Does the data consider that we elected a biracial president in 2008?

 

[Madmick]

This sh*t is crazy. Justice for all or Justice does not exist.


https://hightimes.com/news/data-shows-racial-bias-miami-dade-florida-marijuana-arrests/

https://www.aclufl.org/en/publicati...thnic-disparities-miami-dade-criminal-justice

Typically this is one area where the data has supported a racist bias. Nevertheless, at ~2x the arrest rate, I simultaneously wonder if they controlled for prior records or parole as @Cubo de Sangre has already mentioned. There is zero discussion of these other factors.

Cops often use little shit to hang up people they suspect of larger crimes, but can't prove (i.e. those "nuisance" crimes), in order to get that person off the street, to continue building their record against them, and to disrupt future potential criminal activity.

Know who overwhelmingly controls and is responsible for the highest amount of drug trafficking in Florida and along the entire Eastern Seaboard? Dominicans (i.e. Black Hispanics).

Why are Whites proportionally represented while White Hispanics are overwhelmingly those shown leniency? Why isn't that discussed in the headline? Does it make drawing race-based conclusions a bit illogical, perhaps?

 

[Roaming East]

This isnt news at all. pretty much every statistical measure shows that marijuana usage is fairly evenly spread throughout the races' percentage wise, while arrest FOR usage falls disproportionately upon blacks. Out of a sample size of 75 whites, and 25 blacks. a third of both of those groups will be habitual weed smokers, (25 white, 8 black) yet arrest will invariably 2 whites and 6 blacks.

It gets even more lopsided when actual punishment is taken into account whether first time offenders see maximum sentencing or reduced or probationary status. Go ahead and guess who gets the long hard cock of justice in the ass in THOSE circumstances....

Basically, cops will hurdle past 5 white guys smoking weed to taze and gang whoop the ass of a single black guy with a few grams of hash on his person.

 

[58miles]

I am absolutely shocked that there would be racial bias in drug policy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cid]

Does the data take in consideration that some of those people might be transracial?

Does the data consider that we elected a biracial president in 2008?

Funnily enough the HT article simplifies the racial context which makes it grossly inaccurate. The 4x greater chance of being arrested relates to black hispanics. Black people who aren't hispanic are 2.2x more likely. Found that after just a few minutes of skimming. Can't be bothered reading the whole report.

https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf

 

[MMABrooklyn]

Do we know if that applies to instances of parole violation.

I believe people on parole are excluded.

Does the data take in consideration that some of those people might be transracial?

Well police didn't care about Tiger Woods being triracial, but there's not enough data on trans racials.

Does the data consider that we elected a biracial president in 2008?

Police don't gave a shit.

 

[MMABrooklyn]

Funnily enough the HT article simplifies the racial context which makes it grossly inaccurate. The 4x greater chance of being arrested relates to black hispanics. Black people who aren't hispanic are 2.2x more likely. Found that after just a few minutes of skimming. Can't be bothered reading the whole report.

https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf

Hence the source to both.

Black Hispanics are disproportionately arrested (four times
more than their county population share) and incarcerated even more disproportionately (six times more than their county population share)
.
Regardless of ethnicity, Black defendants are more likely to be charged with
drug crimes and are more likely to be convicted of any crime than are White defendants

https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf

That throws the whole "it's because of culture" argument out the window since Black Hispanics are more likely to be culturally similar to white Hispanics than to non Hispanic Black People.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I believe people on parole are excluded.

Thanks. You got anything that might be convincing to someone else?

 

[MMABrooklyn]

Thanks. You got anything that might be convincing to someone else?

Typically this is one area where the data has supported a racist bias. Nevertheless, at ~2x the arrest rate, I simultaneously wonder if they controlled for prior records or parole as @Cubo de Sangre has already mentioned. There is zero discussion of these other factors.

Cops often use little shit to hang up people they suspect of larger crimes, but can't prove (i.e. those "nuisance" crimes), in order to get that person off the street, to continue building their record against them, and to disrupt future potential criminal activity.

Know who overwhelmingly controls and is responsible for the highest amount of drug trafficking in Florida and along the entire Eastern Seaboard? Dominicans (i.e. Black Hispanics).

Why are Whites proportionally represented while White Hispanics are overwhelmingly those shown leniency? Why isn't that discussed in the headline? Does it make drawing race-based conclusions a bit illogical, perhaps?

Well if you're over policed you're more likely to have a prior record.

The study did control though:

To examine whether racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes exist despite
factors such as crime severity and prior criminal history, we performed multiple
regression analyses on our outcomes that included: other defendant demo
graphics, such as gender and U.S citizenship; current and prior case characteristics, such as prior record, offense severity, and number of charges; and social contextual factors, such as neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and police agency
In these multiple-regression analyses, we still found stark racial and ethnic disparities even after controlling for other factors .

 

[MMABrooklyn]

Know who overwhelmingly controls and is responsible for the highest amount of drug trafficking in Florida and along the entire Eastern Seaboard? Dominicans (i.e. Black Hispanics).

Why are Whites proportionally represented while White Hispanics are overwhelmingly those shown leniency? Why isn't that discussed in the headline? Does it make drawing race-based conclusions a bit illogical, perhaps?

Under 20 grams isn't Drug trafficking

I know Dominicans more often than not do not identify as Black, and though the DR AND Puerto Rico have become big last stops before the U.S, most drugs into Florida is still from Central and South America.

 

[Madmick]

Well if you're over policed you're more likely to have a prior record.

The study did control though:

Link me the ACLU study. What does the disproportion become after these regression analyses? Because I don't believe that is the data being presented. I conclude that from the final line:

we still found stark racial and ethnic disparities even after controlling for other factors.

I'm also interested to see them address the massive disparity between White and White Hispanic rates of arrest, detention, conviction, etc.

Did they?

Under 20 grams isn't Drug trafficking

I know Dominicans more often than not do not identify as Black, and though the DR AND Puerto Rico have become big last stops before the U.S, most drugs into Florida is still from Central and South America.

Any amount can be drug trafficking. It's just that some states will treat this automatically as possession, but if they catch you literally in the middle of a sale, it doesn't matter how much it is. That's trafficking.

 

[MMABrooklyn]

Link me the ACLU study. What does the disproportion become after these regression analyses? Because I don't believe that is the data being presented. I conclude that from the final line:


I'm also interested to see them address the massive disparity between White and White Hispanic rates of arrest, detention, conviction, etc.

Did they?

Any amount can be drug trafficking. It's just that some states will treat this automatically as possession, but if they catch you literally in the middle of a sale, it doesn't matter how much it is. That's trafficking.

The pdf is included in the above links.

https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf

 

[Madmick]

The pdf is included in the above links.

https://www.aclufl.org/sites/default/files/6440miamidadedisparities20180715spreads.pdf

LOL, yep, that wasn't hard to spot:

34 Multiple regression analyses are not presented in this report because the results from applying these statistical models were substantively similar to those presented in the report

However, regression results are available upon request

Of course! Why present the regression results transparently along with the rest of the report when you can hide them behind a request-wall.

Fuck this report. Not wasting my time on it. The bias is evident in the above.

 

[Pessimystic]

It should also be taken into account that blacks are more prone to doing it out in the middle of the street, whereas whites are more likely to sell to friends from inside their home.
Much less risky that way.

 

[MMABrooklyn]

LOL, yep, that wasn't hard to spot:

Of course! Why present the regression results transparently along with the rest of the report when you can hide them behind a request-wall.

Fuck this report. Not wasting my time on it. The bias is evident in the above.

Get it and prove your point.

 

[MMABrooklyn]

It should also be taken into account that blacks are more prone to doing it out in the middle of the street, whereas whites are more likely to sell to friends from inside their home.
Much less risky that way.

That doesn't make sense, that's just a generic talking point. It's up to the officer digestion if they give you a citation or not if you have 20 gram and under. The majority of those citations were given to whites.

Did you not read the report or articles?

 

[Madmick]

Get it and prove your point.

My point is already proven. They're deliberately obscuring data that they don't need to obscure, and the data presented is presented without meaningful qualification and context. It's worthless. This reminds me of that University of Chicago report recently on gun violence that deliberately omitted charts/data about perpetrators by race despite including victims by race, and all other other demographic data about perpetrators.

I'm not your monkey, and their data already shows that Whites aren't given preference.