African Americans account for 80 percent of arrests in Washington: Study

4 out of 5 arrests made in Washington, D.C. are that of African Americans according to a new study.

African Americans account for nearly 80 percent of the arrests in the city and 90 percent of drug arrests, Huffington Post reports.

A group of civil rights lawyers of the Washington Lawyers' Committee said that the arrest statistics from 2009 to 2011 reveal a 'remarkable disparity' between the number of arrests of whites and blacks in D.C.

According to the report, 60 percent of arrests for simple possession of drugs were particularly high among blacks thereby accounting for nine out of 10 arrested being black.

The lawyers said that these arrest patterns may have 'significant implications' for the black community in the city.

They further said that even when an arrest does not result in a conviction the arrest itself can have lasting impacts on an individual's ability to return to school, get and keep a job, find housing, and maintain his or her social and economic standing.