24.2% of all Black people living in Des Moines receive citations. Yet, Black people are only 12% of the population.  Compare that to white people living in Des Moines who receive only 9.6% of citations, yet they make up 75% of the city’s population. (2016 – 2020).

 

Marijuana Arrests – 2016 through 2020

As a percentage of population, Blacks are are arrested at a disproportionate rate for marijuana. While Blacks are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than Whites, people of other races have about the same likelihood of being arrested for marijuana as Whites.

Black people are arrested at higher rates than white people.

Based on data from 2016 through 2020.

Data Overview

6.8x Blacks are 6.8 times more likely to be arrested for interference with official acts than Whites.

4.5x Blacks are 4.5 times more likely to be arrested, for any reason, after being stopped for speeding.

4.8x Blacks are 4.8 times more likely to be arrested, for any reason, after being stopped for an equipment violation.

Racial bias plays a part in the daily jobs of DMPD officers.

Of all arrests made by DMPD officers after a traffic stop where a citation was issued, 22% of the time the person was Black.

40% of officers disproportionately arrest Black people.

55%

The ACLU reports that 55% of all drug arrests in Iowa in 2018 were for possession of marijuana

3x

If you are a Black person, you are 3x times more likely to be issued a citation for a traffic violation than if you were a White resident.

2.3x

If you were a Black person, you were 2.3 times more likely to be issued a citation for speeding than a White Person.

There are racial disparities in Iowa across many quality of life areas.

Income

The median income of African American households in Iowa in 2018 was $31,992. The median income of families in Iowa was $59,995. (State Data Center & ICSAA 2020 Report).

Incarceration

Black people are 4% of Iowa’s population, yet Black people are 25% of Iowa’s prison population. (Iowa DOC & U.S. Census Bureau)

Poverty

In Iowa, 30.7% of African Americans live in poverty, compared with a statewide poverty rate of 11.2%. (State Data Center & ICSAA 2020 Report).