Its a shocking report for some. A new study by the DC American Civil Liberties Union has found that African American’s are arrested 10 times more than White residents in the city for minor crimes.

The study was conducted from 2013 to 2017. It shows that African Americans in the District make up 47% of the population but they make up 86% of those arrested for nonviolent or minor offenses.

An attorney for the ACLU Michael Perloff said it took him 10 months to get the MPD to respond to information used in the research.

The minor offenses that African American’s in the District were being charged with include driving without a permit, public use of marijuana, gambling and even noise complaints.

The ACLU believes that because there are a disproportionate number of poor blacks in the city they are also disproportionately targeted by law enforcement.

The Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results Act (NEAR) which was passed in 2016. It requires the MPD to collect all demographic data for all police stops and uses of force. The Mayoral website for the Safer Stronger DC initiative, the data collected from NEAR Act has not been fully implemented. Sources say it should be up this summer.

The ACLU also found that a 2017 study on police-worn body camera’s in DC did not decrease the number of use of force claims against DC police. The ACLU is calling on the Mayor and City for more transparency within the police department.

Mayor Bowser is looking to increase funding for the MPD and to hire more officers for violence prevention initiatives. The proposed budget will be voted on next Tuesday.

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