Last week, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)
released a report titled “Just the Facts: Racial Disparities in
California Arrests.” The report makes the following findings:
Racial disparities in arrests have decreased, but they still
persist statewide.
Disparities in arrests between African Americans and whites
are widespread.
Racial disparities are larger in more affluent, less diverse
counties.
Felony arrests have fallen, especially for African Americans
and Latinos.
The overall share of felony arrests have decreased across
racial/ethnic groups.
Misdemeanors have grown as a share of all arrests.
The report explains that Proposition 47 has affected the overall
share of felony arrests, finding that property felonies arrests
and felony drug arrests have fallen among all racial/ethnic
groups. However, PPIC also finds that Proposition 47 has likely
contributed to the growth in misdemeanor drug arrests.
