But, because the media tends to portray these offenders generally as minorities, minorities are disproportionately arrested, even though drug use is equal in proportion between races. Also, due to population size, whites use more drugs than any other group (Knafo 2014). .
When crime is highlighted on television the offenders are, more often than not, minorities. Crimes of theft, murder, drug selling and drug use are most likely to be associated with a black or Hispanic male ("Crime in new york city" 2014). With news outlets consistently focusing on minority offenders, they give the strong narrative that mainly minorities commit crimes (Wolfers 2014). We even hear a lot of talking heads having discussions on the high rates of black-on-black and black-on-white crime. These false and excessive representations of minority crime have a negative impact on the public mind. The media has the power to construct any type of idea by simply putting it on the air. There is a saying that goes something like, "If black people don't want to go to jail, then they shouldn't commit crimes." It seems now to encompass all minorities however, not just blacks. The problem with this statement is that thanks to large media outlets, minorities are, apparently, the only people in society that commit crime (Brewster 2014). .
With news outlets focusing on minorities as offenders, it becomes a focus of the public. When people think of criminals they often think of a minority (Volsky 2013). This idea not only is integrated in the mind of the overall community, but also the police forces that "serve and protect" them. When the police also have a predetermined idea of "criminal" those individuals who fall into that category can be systematically watched, and accosted in attempts to keep the community safe. An example is the Stop and Frisk laws in New York that allows officers to stop anyone who seems suspicious.