Examining Racial Segregation in Drug Trafficking Groups: A Quantitative Analysis

• In Event: Urban Drug Markets, Neighborhood Surveillance, and Group Stratification

Abstract

Scholars consistently find high levels of gender segregation and stratification in crime groups organized for illicit gain. This pattern tends to hold across a range of co-offending networks—from short-term partnerships and groups organized for “less serious” forms of crime and deviance to more highly organized syndicates with established divisions of labor. Surprisingly, little research has explored the role of institutionalized racism in the criminal “underworld.” Drawing from a) Cloward and Ohlin’s (1960) notion of crime opportunity; and b) the concept of inbreeding homophily, there is reason to suspect that racial bias plays an important role in the selection of co-offenders. In the current study, I examine the presence of racial segregation and stratification in drug trafficking groups using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (2010-2012). Specifically, I expect: 1) drug selling partnerships and groups to be heavily segregated by race, with fewer crime incidents involving mixed-race groups as compared to all-white and all-black groups; and 2) all-white and all-black groups to be more likely to be arrested with greater pecuniary values of illegal drugs/narcotics as compared to mixed-race groups. Additionally, I examine how patterns of racial segregation and stratification differ depending upon type of drug sold.

Author

• Daniel J. McCarthy, Pennsylvania State University