.png){kind=logo}
According to an analysis of arrest data voluntarily reported to the FBI by thousands of city and county police departments around the country, black people were arrested at a rate five times higher than white people in 800 jurisdictions in 2018, after accounting for the demographics of the cities and counties those police departments serve. Source
In 250 jurisdictions, black people were 10 times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts. Source
This is not an isolated phenomenon. According to a report by The Sentencing Project, black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of white Americans. The report found that one in 81 black Americans are incarcerated compared to one in 394 white Americans. Source
These statistics are alarming and highlight the systemic racism that exists within the criminal justice system. It is important that we continue to have conversations about these issues and work towards creating a more equitable society. A.I.
All one has to do is watch the evening news to see who commit a vast majority of violent crimes. It is the violent crime that results in arrest.
re "black people were arrested at a rate five times higher than white people over a three-year period ending in 2018": that's because they are involved in a disproportionate (relative to percentage of US population) level of crime, in particular of violent crime. In 2017 the Black population was about 15% of the overall population. Young Black men numbered 7 to 9% of the overall population (presumably depending on the upper bound for "young") yet were involved in 45--50% of violent crime (murder, armed robbery, shootings, carjackings, assaults & muggings). Current events (violent looting, burning of buildings & vehicles, mass scale theft and intimidation in stores) indicate that the disproportionality is ongoing. This is the elephant in the living room.