S.F. Police Listed Arrested Asians as ‘Chinese’

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In 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, the S.F. Police Dept. reported 760 Chinese, one Japanese and nine Filipino arrests, all of which were included in the 'Chinese' category. Photo by banspy/Creative Commons via Bay Citizen

By Shoshana Walter, Bay Citizen
The San Francisco Police Department, relying on antiquated computer technology, routinely recorded nearly all Asians who were arrested in the city as “Chinese” until this month, department officials said.

Arrest data that included the “Chinese” numbers was released to the public and sent to law enforcement agencies for at least 10 years, contributing to a skewed understanding of who was being arrested by S.F. police.

The Chinese classifications baffled Asian community leaders, who said the lack of statistics about Asian arrests has made it difficult to know where to focus scarce resources and has contributed to a stereotype of most Asian groups as “model minorities” who never commit crimes.

Read the compete story at Bay Citizen.

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