Statistics on Black Criminals

I am writing to commend Legrand H. Clegg II for the outstanding column he wrote revealing the double standard that exists when African-Americans are victims of crimes perpetrated by whites (“Why Silence When Mobs Are White?” Op-Ed Page, Aug. 30). I would like to carry his argument a step further.

Many Americans do not realize this but the mass media are not only unfair but unconscionable in their long-standing and virtually exclusive focus on the black community when reporting on crime. As a professor who has conducted research and taught in the fields of administration of justice and criminology, and as a lifelong resident of black neighborhoods, I know the public is presented a distorted picture.

The Uniform Crime Report, printed annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, refutes the pervasive view--projected by the media and embraced by the public--that most criminals in America are blacks. The latest report released on July 10, 1988, provides the statistics for 1987. In Table 38, “total arrests, distribution by race, 1987,” the figures reveal that 68.7% of the crimes were committed by whites, 29.5% by blacks, 1.1% by American Indians or Alaskan Natives and .7% by Asians or Pacific Islanders. In the 32 categories of “offenses charged” listed in the table, the black percentage exceeds that of whites in only three: murder, robbery and gambling.

The white percentage exceeds that of blacks in a range of offenses from forcible rape, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft to vandalism, sex offenses, drug abuse violations and disorderly conduct.

I am mindful of the fact that the percentage of crimes committed by blacks far exceeds their proportion of the general population. However, African-Americans are also disproportionately poor--a factor that often leads to criminal activity--and, studies have shown that blacks are more vulnerable than members of all other racial and ethnic groups to being arrested by the police for any reason.

The Uniform Crime Report is clear: American crime does not have a black face! Why, then, have journalists defamed the image of African-Americans with such reckless disregard for the truth? Probably because the media, as most other American institutions, are inherently racist. CORNELIA L. LYLES, Ph.D.

Professor of Criminal Justice

Compton Community College