Assignment task: This was very well researched, but as to Balco's comments, cannot one think of more than one reason why there are disparate numbers between the races affected by the criminal justice system? The DoJ believes one contributing factor is the sheer number of drug arrests of Black Americans. I think we've discussed the issue of "low-hanging fruit." That is, it is much easier for drug task forces to make arrests for street drug offences such as 'crack' than it is to get into boardrooms and bedrooms to arrest people for powder cocaine. I think the vast majority of people using crack cocaine are minority individuals while White Americans use powdered cocaine, although there are exceptions, they are negligible as to statistical gathering. If this is true, it would account for the disparate number of arrests and hence incarcerations of a disproportionate nature.
Disproportionate Incarceration of African Americans for Drug Offenses in the U.S. | Office of Justice Programs