Wooow this thread is crazy. I had no idea this is what this thread was about as I've seen it go up and down the forum for years.
But if I had known sooner I would have posted sooner.
People think that cops target blacks because cops allegedly target drug dealers and most drug dealers are black, but statistics show a large majority (think it was 70%) of 1st and 2nd time offenders were charged with simple possession crimes of under a gm I believe. So cops aren't targeting dealers like most people think. It would seem more from the statistics, that cops target anyone who breaks the law.
I was reading this a few days ago as I was curious about the legal situation with blacks myself.
Among men, blacks (28.5%) are about six times more likely than whites (4.4%)
to be admitted to prison during their life. Among women, 3.6% of blacks and
0.5% of whites will enter prison at least once. (U.S. Department of Justice)
Based on current rates of incarceration, an estimated 7.9% of black males
compared to 0.7% of white males will enter State of Federal prison by the
time they are age 20 and 21.4% of black males versus 1.4% of white males will
be incarcerated by age 30. (U.S. Department of Justice)
Some have noted that more black men are in prison in America than are in
college. (The Black and White of Justice, Freedom Magazine, Volume 128)
I read that and thought "wow, blacks do commit way more crime than whites".
Then I read this:
The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimated that while 12 percent of drug
users are black, they make up nearly 50 percent of all drug possession
arrests in the U.S. (The Black and White of Justice, Freedom Magazine, Volume 128)
According to the National Drug Strategy Network, although African Americans
make up less than one-third of the population in Georgia, the black arrest
rate for drugs is five times greater than the white arrest rate. In addition,
since 1990, African Americans have accounted for more than 75% of persons
incarcerated for drug offenses in Georgia and make up 97.7% of the people in
that state who are given life sentences for drug offenses.
The only thing I don't understand about all of this. Is how I was able to go through the legal system myself and serve time, and not notice any of this was going on. I was in prison, and had adopted some pretty crummy beliefs towards blacks during that time I won't lie.
I can't understand what force exactly is leading to this. So are we saying that racial profiling is the reason why only 12% of drug users are black but 50% of incarcerated drug users are black? What level does this racial profiling take place?
And I personally don't think free lawyers have anything to do with it. I would have had the same exact sentence either way and was told that by various different prosecutors at the time. When you are convicted of a crime, there is ALWAYS a mandatory minimum sentence for that crime. For me, there was no way I could serve under 2 years regardless of the lawyer I had. So I don't understand how lawyers help in most drug cases, although in terms of murder I'd def want the best one I could find.
Just that I've seen some people in prison convicted of murder serving lesser time than some drug accussed people. Like theres a lot more room to play in the courtrooms I'm not sure.
Anyhow, is that what we're saying? BgMC what would you say is the main reason for this? Is it just the simple idea that cops hang out more in black neighborhoods? Because if you drive through any rich white town it always seems like theres more cops. I don't see how blacks are being targeted.
Also, if you break the law in the ghetto, as compared once again to a rich white town, the rich white town will throw the book at you. In the ghetto you will get much fairer treatment.
I saw time and time again just by hearing where people lived and what their sentences were. People who came from crummy parts of NJ always got lesser sentences than people living in richer towns. So again, how exactly are blacks being targeted?
It seems like thats the explanation most people allude to, but noone really has a concrete answer. So all these cops live in white towns. Go to work, get in their cars and think "let me find a shitty black town to go arrest people?" Or are they just going there because those areas DO have more crime?
Its very rare for me to ever drive through a white neighborhood and see people dressed in red and blue hanging out on the corner with their pants down to their knees watching every single car that drives by like a hawk. And I also disagree about it being "safer" for a white man to walk through a black neighborhood. Criminals don't give a shit that they'll get treated harsher (if thats even a fact) just because the persons white. Look at the Christian/Newsom cases. They cut that white boys balls of for christs sake. Then stuffed that girl in a garbage can still alive with chemicals in her throat and her vagina torn to pieces from rape. Dying slowly by suffocation.
My point is I've got jumped in Asbury park only twice, but I was ABSOLUTELY targeted for being white both times. A white boy walking through a ghetto is a prime target for anyone to get over on. They assume you don't have street smarts, assume they can hide the evidence before any cops come, and the last thing thats going to stop them imo is the idea of harsher treatment from cops. I mean these same guys are selling crack all day long to both black and whites. They already got a ton of heat on them. And from what I've seen hanging out in Asbury and more seldomly Newark, I was definitely a target to get ****ed with. I didn't look funny, I'm more good looking than anything, and just white. I think most of them assumed I had money and it just made them angry for w/e reason.
So my point is I just very much disagree with it being safer for a white guy in a black ghetto.
I also don't believe blacks are targeted. I think cops target high crime neighborhoods that just happen to be black. Its more condensed and less divided as opposed to white populations. They cluster to sell drugs. Show me white towns in NJ where whites do this? I've driven through the entire state for work and its always poor black neighborhoods selling drugs, not white.
Look at keansburg, poor white neighborhood. Walk through the streets and try buying drugs, not happening. Youd be there for a week looking.
Go to a poor black neighborhood like asbury, you can find drugs in less than 5 mins.
Then you have all black rich neighborhoods like Montclair NJ. NEVER see people selling drugs in montclair.
It seems to me like this. Both rich white and black neighborhoods aren't targeted for drugs. Poor white neighborhoods aren't targeted because very few of them actually sell drugs in the manners blacks do. Its always poor black neighborhoods due to how boldly they sell the drugs. Whites like meeting places. Go inside a house, in a portajon, a store, a parking lot. Blacks do it right in the middle of the street. Am I wrong? Cause I'll take a videotape driving through NJ to prove it. I might find 5 white guys in the whole state on the corner of some street selling crack, than about 500 blacks doing the same thing.
I do NOT believe that blacks are targeted. My opinion is they make themselves easy bait for the system. Don't do that shit in your front yard, especially in the middle of a road, and you'll see cops "target" you less. The fact is cops are just going where its easiest to make arrests, black neighborhoods.
If you think anything I'm saying is a misconception. Please let me know. I'm dying to see what your response is for all of this. Thanks man!
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