SEATTLE - A study has shown that the misclassification of inmates by law enforcement officials can have a serious impact on how certain groups are perceived by authorities once they are in prison.
In the state of Florida, at least 40,000 potentially Hispanic inmates have been classified as non-Hispanic white according to an analysis conducted by the Miami Herald of the inmate database from the Florida Department of Corrections. Although that number seems high, the actual figures could be a lot more, as the data collection was based on the U.S. Census Bureau's list of common Hispanic last names.
