Why are so many black people being convicted of drug dealing in London?

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Why are so many black people being convicted of drug dealing in London?

3 February 2016

Nearly half of all people convicted for class A drug supply in London are black, according to previously unpublished data seen by VICE. Figures released to VICE under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 42 percent of people convicted for selling class A drugs in the capital are black, a proportion that rises to 50 percent for drug dealers aged under 21.

The data raises important questions about why a disproportionate amount of black people are ending up in the dock for dealing drugs. VICE has spoken to a number of experts – including former drug dealers and specialists in the drug trade – to seek an explanation for this phenomenon.

Their responses on the following pages suggest the figures are being driven by a number of factors, such as social exclusion, biased policing, gang culture and cultural links to the cocaine trade.

Alex Stevens writes on the topics of biased policing: "The key thing is that the proportions of black people in these figures are generated from the interaction between police decisions on whom to target and the underlying (and much greater) numbers of people who are involved in drug supply. If police officers have a view that young black men are more likely to be involved, then they will target young black men, and their figures will keep on telling them that young black men are the most likely to be involved in dealing. This is known as "statistical discrimination".

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