Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle

Beckett, Katherine; Nyrop, Kris; Pfingst, Lori; Bowen, Melissa

doi:10.1525/sp.2005.52.3.419

Cited by 197 publications

(219 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Although evidence of racial discrimination at selective decision points in the criminal justice system is weak (Sampson & Lauritsen 1997), the unprecedented growth of the criminal justice system over the past 30 years has had a vastly disproportionate effect on African Americans. 9 Currently, nearly one out of three young black men will spend time in prison during his 9 The case of drug policy and enforcement is one area for which evidence of direct racial discrimination is stronger (see Beckett et al 2005, Tonry 1995 lifetime, a figure that rises to nearly 60% among young black high school dropouts (Bonczar & Beck 1997, Pettit & Western 2004. Given the wide array of outcomes negatively affected by incarceration-including family formation, housing, employment, political participation, and health-decisions about crime policy, even when race-neutral in content, represent a critical contemporary source of racial disadvantage (Pattillo et al 2003, Pager 2007b, Manza & Uggen 2006.…”

Section: Contemporary State Policies and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets

2008

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Persistent racial inequality in employment, housing, and a wide range of other social domains has renewed interest in the possible role of discrimination. And yet, unlike in the pre-civil rights era, when racial prejudice and discrimination were overt and widespread, today discrimination is less readily identifiable, posing problems for social scientific conceptualization and measurement. This article reviews the relevant literature on discrimination, with an emphasis on racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit markets, and consumer interactions. We begin by defining discrimination and discussing relevant methods of measurement. We then provide an overview of major findings from studies of discrimination in each of the four domains; and, finally, we turn to a discussion of the individual, organizational, and structural mechanisms that may underlie contemporary forms of discrimination. This discussion seeks to orient readers to some of the key debates in the study of discrimination and to provide a roadmap for those interested in building upon this long and important line of research. Keywordsrace; inequality; measurement; mechanisms; African Americans; racial minorities Persistent racial inequality in employment, housing, and other social domains has renewed interest in the possible role of discrimination. Contemporary forms of discrimination, however, are often subtle and covert, posing problems for social scientific conceptualization and measurement. This article reviews the relevant literature on racial discrimination, providing a roadmap for scholars who wish to build on this rich and important tradition. The charge for this article was a focus on racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit markets, and consumer interactions, but many of the arguments reviewed here may also extend to other domains (e.g., education, health care, the criminal justice system) and to other types of discrimination (e.g., gender, age, sexual orientation). We begin this discussion by defining discrimination and discussing methods for measuring discrimination. We then provide an overview of major findings from studies of discrimination in employment, housing, and credit and consumer markets. Finally, we turn to a discussion of the individual, organizational, and structural mechanisms that may underlie contemporary forms of discrimination.

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Section: Contemporary State Policies and Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets

2008

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“…First, the study site is New York City, a place where intensive proactive policing has been institutionalized into the strategic design of policing and has become an intimate and deep-rooted part of the social ecology of many neighborhoods (Beckett, Nyrop & Pfingst, 2006;Beckett, Nyrop, Pfingst & Bowen, 2005;Davies, 2000, 2012;Fagan et al, 2010;Fagan , 2012aFagan , 2012b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men’s Legal Socialization

Tyler

Fagan²,

Geller³

2013

SSRN Journal

108

175

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An examination of the influence of street stops on the legal socialization of young men showed an association between the number of police stops they see or experience and a diminished sense of police legitimacy. This association was not primarily a consequence of the number of stops or of the degree of police intrusion during those stops. Rather, the impact of involuntary contact with the police was mediated by evaluations of the fairness of police actions and judgments about whether the police were acting lawfully. Whether the police were viewed as exercising their authority fairly and lawfully shaped the impact of stops on respondent's general judgments about police legitimacy. Fairness and lawfulness judgments, in turn, were influenced by the number of stops and the degree of police intrusion during those stops.Similarly, judgments of justice and lawfulness shaped the estimated influence of judgments of the general character of police behavior in the community on general perceptions of police legitimacy. These results suggest that the widespread use of street stops undermined legitimacy.Lowered legitimacy had an influence on both law abidingness and the willingness to cooperate with legal authorities. The findings show that people were influenced by perceptions of police injustice/illegality.Words: 12,617 1

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“…The criminalization of drug addiction has also been found by Beckett, Nyrop, Pfingst, and Bowen (2005) who studied crime trends and public concern over crime. They found that while violent crime had decreased over the last decades, public concern over crime has risen along with political rhetoric.…”

Section: Criminality Drug Policy and Discoursementioning

confidence: 88%

Social construction of drug policies and target populations: U.S. Policy and media discourse

Langner¹,

Zajicek²

2017

FSOC

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In this review, we discuss the historical changes in U.S. drug policy discourse, institutional racism, and the social construction of target populations in media discourse. We do not intend to show a cause-effect relationship; instead, we use a social constructionist approach that focuses on meaning production and “truth-claims” to explore the relationship between news media and drug policy. We begin by discussing mass incarceration, war on drugs, and institutional racism. Next, we review a sample of the current research from the fields of sociology and criminology on drug policy, race, and media discourse. We then focus on the most recent articulation of drugrelated policy and media discourse – the discourse surrounding marijuana use, including most recent trends in marijuana discourse. We conclude by noting the possible direction for drug policies and discussing the need for research addressing gaps in current understanding of drug-related discourse and the social construction of target populations.

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Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle

Cited by 197 publications

References 38 publications

The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets

The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets

Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men’s Legal Socialization

Social construction of drug policies and target populations: U.S. Policy and media discourse

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