Black People in Great Britain Six Times More Likely to Face Arrest for Drug Offenses Than White People

 According to an article in The Observer, new research has shown that black people are six times more likely to be arrested for drug offences than white people. They are also eleven times more likely to be imprisoned. This, all despite the fact, that there is no evidence that proves that black people are more likely to use or deal drugs.

 The evident bias in racial drug arrests in England and Wales is even worse than it is in the United States—where black people are three times more likely to be arrested and ten times more likely to be imprisoned than whites.

Professor Alex Stewart of the University of Kent found this disturbing trend when he analyzed recent data provided by the Ministry of Justice. Stewart said: “Criminalisation of illicit drugs reinforces social and ethnic inequalities. Decriminalisation of drug use would help to reduce these inequalities.” Stewart added: “This differential enforcement of drug laws contributes substantially to the over-representation of black people in prison in England and Wales.”

Source: The Observer

– Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger