News on U.S. government agencies, U.S. politics, companies doing business with U.S. federal government. Read U.S. national and local news. This site is not affiliated with United States Government.
(USGovernment-News.Com, July 20, 2013 ) Silver Spring, MD -- The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs has released a new study where they conclude black individuals in the Washington area are disproportionately arrested for minor drug offenses as compared to other ethnicities. The group director stated that this fact has essentially “criminalized a large portion of the African American community.”
The civil rights lawyers are not making any direct policy recommendations. Instead, the report is to be released soon, and states the statistics taken from 2009 through 2011 ought to be considered a “wake-up call” for the debate regarding decriminalization of drugs, as well as forming general strategies to reduce crime in neighborhoods.
The authors noted that 80% of those arrested in the District are black, which is a disproportionate number considering the racial breakdown of residents in the area. Nearly 47% of all residents are black while 43% are white. Nearly 90% of those arrested on a charge of a simple drug possession charge are black residence. At the same time, 80% of those charged with disorderly conduct are black.
Said Roderic V.O. Boggs, executive director of the lawyers’ committee: “Police are spending an enormous amount of time resolving behavior that is not life-threatening.”
The report itself was researched with the assistance of the Covington & Burling offices as well as an advisory committee of five retired or senior district court judges. The Washington post also obtained a copy of the report.
This is not the first time police have been criticized for such disparity in arrests. A similar study found they unfairly discounted facts in crimes that were held in the neighborhoods with the highest black population.
Authorities state they do not target any individual for drug crimes that are considered minor such as marijuana. They also state that arrest numbers reflect the increase in police presence, which was asked for by the community due to drug usage and violence in the area.
About SuissaLawOffice.com
The Law Offices of Harry A. Suissa, P.C. (http://suissalawoffice.com/) provides high-quality personal representation for cases varying from immigration to criminal defense, and wills and trusts as well as personal injury cases. Get in touch with the most experienced attorney criminal bethesda md in the field today and learn how you can save money while receiving the best in protection of your rights.
We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Industry resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:
