NYCLU: Racial disparity in marijuana arrests

Black people are more likely to get arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana on Long Island than white people, but the disparity is less than the statewide average, and lower than four New York City boroughs, according to an analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

In 2010, black people were 4.2 times more likely to get arrested in Suffolk County and 3.57 times more likely to be arrested in Nassau for nonfelony possession of marijuana, according to the report, which was released Thursday. Statewide, black people were 4.5 times more likely to be arrested for possessing small amounts. Brooklyn led all counties in the state, with black people 9.68 times more likely to be arrested for possession, the report said.

The NYCLU said its data for 2010, the most recent year available, were a breakdown of national data released earlier this week by its parent organization, the American Civil Liberties Union. Nationwide, black people were 3.7 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession.

"In all corners of New York State, police are targeting people of color for marijuana possession arrests," NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said. "Arresting and jailing thousands of people for possessing small amounts of marijuana does not make safer streets. It only needlessly disrupts people's lives and fosters distrust between the police and the communities they are sworn to serve."

In Suffolk, for every 100,000 population, there were 1,055 black people arrested and 251 white people, according to Sara LaPlante, a data and policy analyst for the NYCLU.

In Nassau, for every 100,000 population, there were 314 black people arrested and 88 white people arrested, LaPlante said.

The NYPD issued a statement Thursday that did not contradict the group's statistics, but said marijuana arrests were down 32 percent this year and 22 percent in 2012.

"All 26 individuals shot last weekend, including seven fatally, were black or Hispanic. . . . Police enforce the law everywhere, but in greater numbers in poor neighborhoods experiencing violent crime the most," the statement said.

Richard Klein, a professor at Touro Law School in Central Islip, said the report highlighted two issues: "the continued misuse of police resources to target marijuana possession, and the . . . high incidence of blacks who are arrested."

"Police may rationalize the targeting of black youths as just an incidental consequence of the police focusing on high-crime areas, but in fact, police know that they can get away with often illegal searches of blacks, which may reveal the possession of marijuana," Klein said.