The article starts off on a poor foot by providing blatant misinformation in the fourth paragraph, stating that African Americans are more likely to be sentenced for drug crimes despite using drugs in roughly equal numbers to whites, but this is simply not true. This claim is based on surveys which show self-reported drug use as being roughly equal, however, we know that African-Americans are more likely to lie about not having used illicit drugs on surveys (1, 2). Furthermore the way in which they commit the crimes is different as African Americans are far more likely to buy drugs outdoors, far more likely to buy from strangers, and more likely to buy away from home.
shang_yang_gang t1_ixi5qhl wrote
Reply to The Ethics of Policing Algorithms by ADefiniteDescription
The article starts off on a poor foot by providing blatant misinformation in the fourth paragraph, stating that African Americans are more likely to be sentenced for drug crimes despite using drugs in roughly equal numbers to whites, but this is simply not true. This claim is based on surveys which show self-reported drug use as being roughly equal, however, we know that African-Americans are more likely to lie about not having used illicit drugs on surveys (1, 2). Furthermore the way in which they commit the crimes is different as African Americans are far more likely to buy drugs outdoors, far more likely to buy from strangers, and more likely to buy away from home.