The Interaction of Race and Gender as a Significant Driver of Racial Arrest Disparities for African American Men

Abstract

The mass incarceration of African Americans is both a driver of racial health inequalities in the USA. Systemic social biases which associate African American men with criminality, violence, and as a particular threat to white women may partially explain their overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. We combined data from the Washington, DC Metro Police Department (MPD) and the American Community Survey to test whether neighborhood-level gender, race, and economic makeup were associated with elevated drugrelated arrest disproportions for African American men. We found that African American men were significantly overrepresented in all drug-related arrests across the District, and that this arrest disproportion was significantly higher in neighborhoods that had a higher percentage of white female residents. The association between race and gender was somewhat attenuated, but not completely eliminated, when we introduced socioeconomic variables to our model. Addressing the social determinants of criminal justice disparities must account for the intersection of race, gender, and economics, rather than considering race in isolation.

Risk, race, and predictive policing: A critical race theory analysis of the strategic subject list

“…For example, previous research has found that neighborhood criminogenic characteristics (e.g., poverty, crime, and disadvantage) can influence arrest decision making (Gaston, 2019a) and concentrated poverty can explain statistical differences in arrest disparities (Kirk, 2008). The racial composition of the neighborhood where the person was arrested also influences these outcomes, such that Black individuals have greater risk of arrest in places with lower proportions of Black residents (Andersen, 2015; Fielding‐Miller et al, 2020; Gaston 2019b). Notably, in St. Louis, Missouri, Black individuals are arrested for drug crimes at greater rates overall but moreover, were more likely to be arrested in majority White neighborhoods (Gaston, 2019b).…”

Call to Action for Enhanced Equity and Inclusion in Cannabis Research

“…9,[11][12][13][14][15] For example, systematic profiling and deportation of Hispanic community members, 13,16 evidence that ''intensity of enforcement'' of cannabis-related laws is significantly related to the income level and race of an individual, 20 and that African American men in particular are overrepresented in drug-related arrests, especially since the U.S. War on Drugs in the 1970s led to aggressive policing of black American neighborhoods. 9,21 Importantly, these inequities persist despite the fact that black and Hispanic Americans use cannabis at roughly the same rate as whites. 22 Even though many people with cannabis-related convictions remain incarcerated, new policies are not being developed with the input of minority stakeholders postlegalization, 23,24 and there is evidence that the economic benefits of the so-called Green Rush are inequitably distributed.…”

Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Prosecutor’s Bail Requests and Downstream Decision-making

“…Although it is beyond the scope of this study to further incorporate even earlier processes of police decision-making into our analytic model, it should be noted that the norms and practices the police rely on when they make arrest decisions can significantly affect the disproportionality in the racial/ethnic composition observed in the subsequent processes of criminal prosecution and adjudication. A voluminous body of literature has documented that young black males are significantly overrepresented in the police stops and arrests—especially in drug-related arrests (e.g., Fielding-Miller et al, 2020 ; Garrison, 1997 ; Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2007).…”