Black people are six times more likely to be arrested than white people for drug offenses and 11 times more likely to be imprisoned in Britain

In the United States, black people are three times more likely than white people to be arrested and 10 times more likely to be jailed for drugs offenses. Fewer than two in 1,000 white people were arrested for drug offenses in 2007 to 2008, compared with more than 10 in 1,000 black people. In terms of imprisonment, the rates varied from 0.1 in 1,000 white people to 1.1 in 1,000 black people, meaning that black people in England and Wales are 6.1 times more likely to be arrested and 11.4 times more likely to be jailed. for drug offenses than white people. Black people were also 9.2 times more likely to be stopped and searched for drug offenses. Around a quarter of the people serving sentences for drug offenses were of African or Caribbean origin, although only 2.2% of the British population aged over 10 are categorized as belonging to that ethnic group. The research found that South Asian people were two times more likely to be arrested and 3.1 times more likely to be imprisoned than white people for drug offenses.

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