Original article
Report: Blacks get jail for drugs 22 times more than whites
By JAY STAPLETON
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- A new report by a Washington, D.C., think tank says blacks are more likely than whites to be sentenced to prison for drug offenses in 97 percent of the largest counties in the country.
Volusia County ranked 68th out of the 198 counties with populations over 250,000 featured in the study, with blacks being sent to prison for drug related convictions 22 times more than whites.
"I'm not surprised," Daytona Beach defense lawyer Jim Crock said, referring to law enforcement efforts that swarm certain neighborhoods. "Not a week goes by in which the Daytona Beach police or the Sheriff's Office, they have all these special names for all these special operations . . . they literally go down and pour police onto the streets and they harass everybody in sight."
As a result, Crock said, black people who live in neighborhoods that get the most attention from police drug units wind up gathering more arrests. "And the courts will look at them as repeat offenders," he said.
Crock, who handles a large number of drug cases as a defense lawyer, said factors contributing to the disparity -- such as offender's family backgrounds or disadvantages beyond their control -- are often not taken into account in court.
State Attorney John Tanner said repeat arrests are one factor in determining whether a person convicted of a drug offense is sent to prison, a decision which ultimately rests with judges. But he said his prosecutors don't consider "race, gender or ethnic heritage."
Other things considered include the facts of the case and the circumstances of the arrest. "Race just doesn't enter into it," Tanner said. With most first and second drug arrests, prosecutors try to get the offenders treatment in the community.
But, he added, "if someone happens to be in the system two or three times, gets arrested again and winds up on drug offender probation . . . somewhere along the line, the judge determines, enough is enough, it's time to send them to state prison because nothing else is working."
The report was done by the Justice Policy Institute, which says it is "dedicated to ending society's reliance on incarceration and promoting effective and just solutions to social problems." While the study did not point blame on police or suggest blacks are targeted by special operations, it did suggest certain social factors be considered by law enforcers and lawmakers.
Flagler County was not included in the study.
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