But he fails to acknowledge that black crack defendants were also rare in those states. Crack users of either race reside in a small number of jurisdictions. Whites are 46 percent of people who report using crack in surveys, but only 4 percent of defendants. However, this holds true only for Federal courts, where other factors, such as an international connection or the imputation of an intent to distribute, skew the outcome. Further, street-drug transactions, where undercover operations are easier to mount, result in the apprehension of more blacks than whites because of patterns of use.
Racial disparities appear unaccountable only if such factors are neglected.
Because criminal behavior affects a larger proportion of the black population, the effect is that black drug use is underreported. When all of these factors are taken into account, according to Patrick Langan of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the racial disparity almost disappears. Between 1980 and 1990 the proportion of drug offenders among those admitted to Federal prisons rose from 22 percent to 40 percent. The proportion of blacks among those arrested for drug offenses went from 24 percent to 41 percent. There is no obvious racial disparity in these numbers.