Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Police and Prosecutorial Drug Charging: Analyzing Organizational Overlap in Charging Patterns at Arrest, Filing, and Conviction

Abstract

Objective: Explore racial-ethnic disparities in drug charging trajectories from arrest to conviction. Methods: We analyze racial-ethnic disparities in charging severity across arrest, filing, and conviction for felony drug offense cases in Miami-Dade County between 2010-2015 (N=25,559) using a “distance traveled” approach by estimating the severity of charges based on the probability of incarceration at conviction. We use these estimates to predict the severity of charges at arrest and filing, and examine differences in the severity of charges between stages. Results: Compared to White non-Latinx people, police charge Black Latinx people with drug crimes that are 1.8 times more severe and Black non-Latinx people with drug crimes that are 1.6 times more severe at arrest. These inequalities are maintained throughout the charging trajectory. Greater charge reductions occur between arrest and filing than between filing and conviction, highlighting the importance of police in charging trajectories. We find small increases in charging trajectory, where racial-ethnic disparities persist at conviction. Conclusions: Examining charging at arrest is critical to understanding racial-ethnic disparities in charging trajectories, where unequal arrest charges become institutionalized throughout the charging process. Organizational dynamics between police and prosecutors may lead to drug charging practices that systematically disadvantage Black people in Miami-Dade County.