Lets make the wording the same for each;
Almost 40% of white males...
Almost 50% of black males...
A difference of a mere 10%. And most readers here bit right off on it.
In other words, a lot more overall white arrests than black arrests.
Methinks the author of this piece wants to stir things up a little.
That's a good point. 40% of a majority would be a greater number than 50% of a much smaller minority of the population.
To those who don't believe the statistic: Don't you know "white" men who were arrested before age 23? I sure did. How many guys here were ever arrested for underage drinking, or trying to buy alcohol while underage, or getting smart with a police officer (probably while drunk), or getting into a fight with some other guy, or trespassing, etc.? The list goes on and on. As someone said above, it's all about the Y chromosome at that age.
“A difference of a mere 10%.”
Not to split hairs, but isn’t the difference 20%?