Since criminal justice reform eliminated New York City’s mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws in 2009, there has been a significant drop in racial disparities in drug sentencing, in addition to a lower rate of recidivism across the five boroughs. That true, moreover, despite the fact that, according to a new study, the vast majority of offenders who qualified for treatment as an alternative to serving prison time did not enroll.
The Criminal Procedure Law implemented in 2009 granted judges the discretion to authorize alternatives to mandatory prison sentences, including jail, probation, or treatment, for felons who did not commit a Class A felony such as murder or treason. The study — conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice, the National Institute of Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Rutgers University — examined the results of the 2009 reforms and found that Black and Hispanic people dropped from 3 and 3.2 times more likely than their white counterparts to receive a prison sentence for a felony drug arrest to 1.9 and 2.1 times more likely, respectively. Across the general population, diversion from prison increased by 35 percent across the city. Moreover, 36 percent of the people diverted to treatment in 2010 were re-arrested within two years, as opposed to 54 percent of people who were “sentenced to prison, jail, or probation” in 2008.
Despite these gains, however, only one in five people who were eligible for treatment enrolled. This was due, in part, to defendants refusing to admit that they have a substance abuse problem. Some were not given the proper referral for an assessment, prior to seeking treatment. In other cases, diversion to treatment was turned down after prosecutors recommended against it. A case study of 2,410 of people who were eligible for treatment determined that 19 percent went to prison, 24 percent went to jail, 13 percent were sentenced to probation, and 17 percent had their charges dismissed. Additionally, judges rarely used their new authority: only 110 out of 495 case studies found that judges, not prosecutors, exercised “judicial diversion.”
The reduction of draconian drug sentences, which disproportionately impacts people of color, has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform in the last two years. In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered that all federal prosecutors omit the quantity of drugs involved in cases surrounding low-level offenders, which would allow them to prevent mandatory sentencing. One program initiated by President Obama enabled 23,000 non-violent criminals, including drug offenders, to apply for clemency if they served more than 10 years in prison. Obama also reduced the sentences of eight non-violent drug offenders at the end of 2014. Citing the costs of overpopulated, conservative groups like ALEC have also called for the elimination of mandatory sentences for drug offenders who make up 49 percent of the federal prison population.
In New York City, white people are more likely to carry drugs than minorities, but black and Hispanic people are significantly more likely to be subjected to stop and frisk than their white counterparts.