Race, Neighborhood Context, and Drug Enforcement: a Mixed-Method Analysis of Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests" (2016)
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University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 5-4-2016 Race, Neighborhood Context, and Drug Enforcement: A Mixed- Method Analysis of Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests Shytierra Gaston University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Gaston, Shytierra, "Race, Neighborhood Context, and Drug Enforcement: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests" (2016). Dissertations. 121. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/121 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Race, Neighborhood Context, and Drug Enforcement: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests Shytierra Gaston M.A., Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2013 B.S., Criminal Justice, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2011 A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology and Criminal Justice May 2016 ADVISORY COMMITTEE Richard Rosenfeld, Ph.D. Chairperson Janet Lauritsen, Ph.D. Michael Campbell, Ph.D. Rod Brunson, Ph.D. Copyright, Shytierra Gaston, 2016 1 Contents List of Figures and Tables ............................................................................................................ 2 Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 6 The War on Drugs ............................................................................................................... 7 Racial Disparities Fuel Inequality ..................................................................................... 11 Goals of the Dissertation ................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Theoretical Frameworks and Literature Review ................................................. 18 Differential Drug Involvement Theory ............................................................................ 19 Differential Scrutiny Theory ............................................................................................ 24 Racially-Biased Policing Theory ..................................................................................... 27 Studies on Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests ................................................................. 36 Chapter 3: Setting of the Study: St. Louis, Missouri ............................................................... 42 History of Race Relations and Racial Segregation .......................................................... 45 Drug Enforcement in St. Louis ........................................................................................ 49 Chapter 4: Quantitative Component ........................................................................................ 53 Data .................................................................................................................................. 53 Measures .......................................................................................................................... 54 Analytic Strategy ............................................................................................................. 64 Descriptive Parameters .................................................................................................... 68 Bivariate Results .............................................................................................................. 77 Multivariate Results ......................................................................................................... 82 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 98 Chapter 5: Qualitative Component ......................................................................................... 105 Data ................................................................................................................................. 109 Sample............................................................................................................................. 111 Analytic Strategy ............................................................................................................ 117 Pathways to Drug Arrests ............................................................................................... 120 Pathways to Drug Arrests by Neighborhood Type ......................................................... 126 Pathways to Drug Arrests by Arrestee Race ................................................................... 136 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 153 Chapter 6: Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 158 Summary of Findings ...................................................................................................... 159 Research and Theoretical Implications ........................................................................... 165 Policy and Practice Implications ..................................................................................... 168 References .................................................................................................................................. 173 Appendix A: Multivariate Tables with Coefficients .............................................................. 187 2 Figures and Tables Chapter 1: Introduction Figure 1.1 U.S. Rates of Adult Drug Arrests by Race, 1980-2007……………………………………………10 Chapter 2: Theoretical Frameworks and Literature Review Figure 2.1 National Data on Drug Use by Race and Type, 1979-2003……………………………………21 Chapter 3: Setting of the Study: St. Louis, Missouri Table 3.1 Comparison of St. Louis with Five Midwestern Cities and the United States .…….…43 Figure 3.1 Race-Specific Drug Arrests in St. Louis, 1960-2005……………………………….……….………51 Figure 3.2 City-Level Drug Arrests in St. Louis 2009-2013, by Race…………………….………………...52 Chapter 4: Quantitative Component Table 4.1 Descriptive Parameters for Population of Neighborhoods……………………………………..69 Table 4.2 Mean Differences of Characteristics across Racially-Characterized Neighborhoods…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….……....72 Figure 4.1 Racial Composition, Drug Arrests, and Drug Deaths across St. Louis N’hoods……..…75 Table 4.3 Correlation Matrix of Variables in the Quantitative Analysis………………………………...…80 Table 4.4 Negative Binomial Regression Results for Race-Specific Total Drug Arrest Counts.….84 Table 4.5 Negative Binomial Regression Results for Race-Specific Drug Possession Arrest Counts………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..88 Table 4.6 Negative Binomial Regression Results for Race-Specific Drug Sale/Mftg. Arrest Counts………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………..90 Table 4.7 Negative Binomial Regression Results for Race-Specific Total Drug Arrests by Neighborhood Type…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….……..91 Figure 4.2 Marginal Effects of Racial Composition on White Total Drug Arrests……………..…...….94 Figure 4.3 Marginal Effects of Racial Composition on Black Total Drug Arrests………………………..94 Chapter 5: Qualitative Component Figure 5.1 Stratified Random Sampling Scheme for Sample of 300 Drug Arrest Reports…………113 Table 5.1 Comparison of Characteristics of Final Sample, Larger Sample, and Population of Drug Arrest Incidents………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..114 Table 5.2 Descriptive Statistics of Drug Arrest Incidents by Neighborhood Type……………………115 Figure 5.2 Distribution of the Pathways to Drug Arrests for Sample……...................................120 Table 5.3 Pathways to Drug Arrests by Neighborhood Type………………………………..………………..126 Table 5.4 Pathways to Drug Arrests by Arrestee Race…………………………………………………………...136 Table 5.5 Pathways to Drug Arrests by Arrestee Race in Each Neighborhood Type……………….148 Appendix A: Multivariate Tables with Coefficients…………………….…………………….……...187 3 Abstract Black-white racial disparities in drug arrests are large and longstanding in the U.S. criminal justice system, as black Americans are arrested for drug offenses at a rate nearly five times the rate of white Americans. Because drug offending data mostly show that blacks are no more likely than whites to use or sell drugs, racial disparities in drug arrests appear to be attributable to factors other than drug offending. This dissertation assesses whether neighborhood contextual factors can explain racial disparities in drug arrests across St. Louis neighborhoods between 2009 and 2013. Using mixed methods, the quantitative and qualitative components test leading explanations of the racial disparity problem: differential drug involvement theory, differential scrutiny