‘False positive’ field drug tests lead to wrongful convictions
A new Quattrone Center report shows that the use of presumptive field tests in drug arrests is one of the largest known contributing factors to wrongful arrests and convictions.
The report uses survey data and annual national estimates of drug arrests to examine the impact of the tests on wrongful arrests and racial disparities, and their subsequent impact on prosecutions and criminal convictions. According to the report, approximately 773,000 of the more than 1.5 million drug arrests conducted in the United States each year involve the use of color-based presumptive tests, despite the known accuracy issues associated with the tests (e.g., false positives indicating the presence of an illegal drug where none exists). While the true error rate of these tests remains unknown, the available data suggests that around 30,000 people who do not possess controlled substances are falsely implicated by these tests and arrested each year.
“Presumptive field drug test kits are known to produce ‘false positive’ errors and were never designed or intended to provide conclusive evidence of the presence of drugs,” says Ross Miller, Quattrone Center assistant director and lead author of the report. “But in our criminal legal system, where plea bargaining is the norm and actual fact-finding by trial is exceedingly rare, these error-prone tests have become de facto determinants of guilt in a substantial share of criminal cases in the United States and, as a result, a significant cause of wrongful convictions.”
The report also details racially disparate impacts resulting from these tests, finding that a Black individual is three times more likely to experience a drug arrest with a false positive from a field test compared to a white individual.
In Senegal, the ambitious Dakar Greenbelt project seeks to create an extensive network of ecological infrastructure in and around the city to sustainably address environmental concerns and enhance urban life. With support from David Gouverneur and Ellen Neises, Ph.D. candidate Rob Levinthal in the Weitzman School of Design led two courses that included a field trip to Dakar, that culminated in students presenting their visions for parts of the Greenbelt.
From a desert to an oasis: Penn engages in ambitious greening effort in the Sahel
Students from the Weitzman School of Design journeyed to Senegal to help with a massive ecological and infrastructural greening effort as part of their coursework. The Dakar Greenbelt aims to combat desertification and promote sustainable urban growth.
As part of an undergraduate course, Penn faculty and students curated an Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of works from the Neumann family’s extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.
The University’s nexus for technology transfer supports researchers in their innovative efforts, from CAR T to mRNA advancements that have dramatically reshaped the world.
