MA Police Data Points to Racial Disparities in Arrests
Records gathered from local police suggest in some communities, people who are Black or African American were arrested at disproportionately high rates, relative to their overall share of the population, according to a new analysis by NBC10 and students from Boston University’s Justice Media Computational Journalism co-lab.
By Melissa Ellin, Kate McGowan and Bzu Shiferaw, Photo: NBC Boston
Racial disparities in the criminal justice system have long been a topic of concern and debate, with studies and reports revealing how systemic biases and discrimination affect communities of color. In Massachusetts, a recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has shed new light on the issue, highlighting the racial disparities in arrests made by police departments across the state.
The report analyzed police data from 2019 and found that Black people in Massachusetts are 3.3 times more likely to be arrested than white people, while Hispanic/Latinx people are 2.3 times more likely to be arrested. These findings indicate that racial bias and profiling continue to be a significant problem in policing, raising serious questions about the fairness and equity of the criminal justice system. The report's findings underscore the need for greater transparency and accountability in law enforcement, and call for systemic change to address the racial disparities that persist in the criminal justice system.
Read the full article
View all posts