In 1997, blacks made up about 20 percent of Virginia's population but about 50 percent of arrests for major felonies such as rape and murder. These statistics, confirmed by a report scheduled for release later this week, show blacks are disproportionately represented in Virginia's criminal justice system.
The report, commissioned by the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, will not be issued officially until later this week, but it was obtained yesterday by The Washington Post.
As a proportion of arrests for all crimes, the disparity is slightly smaller, but at 42 percent, blacks still are significantly over-represented.
Beyond simply assessing the inequities that have been found in arrests and sentencing, the report extends its scope to a critique of police practices such as racial profiling.
"It is obviously a national concern," said University Law School Prof. Robert O'Neil, a former University president.
O'Neil said he hopes that the report will help law enforcement officials and policy makers to "go beyond pointing fingers" and have a candid discussion of controversial issues like racial profiling.
Difficulties in the relationship between race and the criminal justice system is "old news," said African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner.
"I hope [the report] will serve notice that this is a major problem," Turner said, adding that the real impact of the report would depend on how law enforcement officials react to it.
He said he also believes while the issue of race in law enforcement is a large societal problem, he also feels that "we're fortunate to have one of the more professional police chiefs" at the University. He particularly cited the diversity of the University police department as one of its strengths.
But "I haven't been as pleased" with the city and county police, he said, adding that he hopes to see more city and county cooperation with the University police.
While the report clearly has given Virginians something to discuss, University Law Prof. Bill Stuntz said, Virginia's arrest statistics for blacks are actually less disproportionate than the national average.
This data is actually "favorable to the state," Stuntz said.
He also said the disparity cannot all be blamed on the law enforcement community.
Statistically, blacks have lower incomes and one might expect less affluent sections of the population to commit more crimes, he added. Whatever the cause, however, Stuntz said the disproportion remains "a large social problem."
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