Atlanta, Georgia is 61% black. The majority of the police and judges are black. The mayor is black. They have over twice the crime of Los Angeles (a city known for its crime) and the majority of the prison convicts are black.
Yes, prejudices do exist and effect arrest rates, but never mind that blacks make up 12% of the county's population, yet make up 27% of the crime. That huge disparity is most assuredly racism.![]()
Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009
Atlanta - 22.5%
LA - 19.8%
African Americans in poverty 2009
Atlanta - 33.9%
LA - 24.6%
Whites in poverty 2009
Atlanta - 7.6%
LA - 11.2%
The state of California has 5X the GDP per capita than does Georgia.
The fact that Atlanta has a higher poverty rate leads me to believe it is the primary cause of their higher crime rate. There is much more disparity between the property crime rate than the violent crime rate, also consistent with poor societies. There could be many other factors, such as city budget and active policing. How well are the poor neighborhoods policed in comparison to other neighbourhoods? Crime is committed by a small percentage of any population, so a slight increase in poverty levels can have a significant difference in crime rates.
Bakersfield CA has a crime rate similar to Atlanta and significantly greater than LA. It only has an 8% Black population...how do you explain this???
NY City has almost 3X the African American population as LA, but has 50% less crime...how do you explain this???
Crime Rates for Selected Large Cities, 2005 — Infoplease.com
Crime is greater in poor neighborhoods and it just so happens that poor neighborhoods are more populated by African Americans. To make an assumption that Black people are inherently criminal is not only racist, it's ignorant. The fact that you would allow yourself to believe Black people are more criminal is ignorant. Black people may be more criminal, but only as it relates to their socioeconomic status, not color of their skin. Few white people are poor, therefore they commit less crimes; it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this out, but it does require one not being racist.
Socioeconomic status is a predictor of crime, not race; the fact that America has impoverished its black population is just a convenient racist argument.
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