Racial Disparities in Drug Offender Handling Cited; Report by Governor's Panel Suggests Ways to Improve System

Summary

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Getting caught with drugs within city limits often lands an offender in jail, while a suburban bust can mean little more than a municipal ticket. So African-Americans, concentrated in the state's urban areas, are arrested for drug offenses at more than six times the rate of whites in Wisconsin, a commission convened by Gov. Jim Doyle argues in a report to be released today.

Blacks make up 6% of the state's population, but 45% of the adult state prison population, Wisconsin Department of Corrections data show. Latinos are 4% of the state's population, but 8% of the correctional population, the study says.

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Extract

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Racial Disparities in Drug Offender Handling Cited; Report by Governor's Panel Suggests Ways to Improve System

"Once you get a record, it's hard to get employment, it's hard to get into college," said state Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), a commission co-chair. "We'r...

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