Drugs & Race Index

Percentage of inmates incarcerated in state and federal prisons during 1998 for drug offenses who are white: 20¹

Percentage of inmates incarcerated in state and federal prisons during 1998 for drug offenses who are black: 57²

Percentage of inmates incarcerated in state and federal prisons during 1998 for drug offenses who are Hispanic: 22³

Percentage of clients in drug and alcohol treatment facilities in 1998 who are white: 58.3⁴

Percentage of clients in drug and alcohol treatment facilities in 1998 who are black: 23.9⁵

Percentage of clients in drug and alcohol treatment facilities in 1998 who are Hispanic: 13.5⁶

Average length of a drug sentence for whites: 58 months⁷

Average length of a drug sentence for blacks: 107 months ⁷

Footnotes

¹ Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 1999NCJ 183476, 10: white state prisoners 1998 for drug offense is 46,300 out of 531,100; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics 1998; (op. cit.), 98: white federal prisoners 1998 for drug is 22% out of 63,011 = 13,862.

² Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 1999 (op. cit.), 10: black state prisoners 1998 for drug offense is 134,800 out of 531,100; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics 1998 NCJ 180258, 98: black federal prisoners 1998 for drug is 44.8% of 63,011 = 28,229.

³ Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 1999 (op cit), 10: Hispanic state prisoners 1998 for drug offense is 51,700 out of 531,100; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics 1998 (op. cit.), 98: white federal prisoners 1998 for drug is 31.8% out of 63,011 = 20,037.

⁴ Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook, Table 6.63.

⁵ Ibid., ibid.

⁶ Ibid., ibid.

⁷ Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics 1999. NCJ 186179, p. 71: white = 57.5 mo., black = 106.9 mo.