ALBANY — Schenectady County ranks worst in the state when it comes to racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests.

Black people in Schenectady were 74 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for a cannabis-related offense, despite evidence that white and black New Yorkers use marijuana at similar rates, according to analysis of arrests between 2000 and 2018 compiled by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU).

No county in the state comes close to that figure. Monroe County, where black people are 16 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana related offenses than their white neighbors, ranked second worst in the state. Statewide, blacks were 14 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana crimes than white New Yorkers, according to the report.

The data was released as state lawmakers seek to advance a bill legalizing recreational marijuana and expunging pot-related criminal records before the end of the legislative session.

"The report shows that there is a great disparity in how counties deal with marijuana possession and arrests. That's why we feel it's important that we legalize marijuana across the state," said Melanie Trimble, director of the Capital Region chapter of NYCLU.

Schenectady County is 12 percent black and 78.5 percent white, according to 2018 Census data. One in every six black residents was arrested on cannabis-related charges in Schenectady, according to the analysis.

Law enforcement officials in Schenectady said that they were surprised by the figures. Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic A. Dagostino said he hadn't seen the data, but attributed the lopsided statistic in part, to reports of street-level dealing in the city of Schenectady, which is about 25 percent black.

"We've had some really hot-spot neighborhoods here and as a result, deployment to those neighborhoods is increased," Dagostino said. "I know we are making a lot of marijuana arrests just to get people off the corners. They are having real nuisance, quality-of-life problems there."

Overall, Schenectady tallied fewer possession arrests over an 18 year period than other upstate counties like Monroe and Albany, which racked up 7,402 and 4,487 arrests, respectively. Schenectady police had made under 1,000 arrests during the review period and the county did not register on the NYCLU's list of those outside New York City with the highest number of arrests.

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said that Schenectady, while small, is uniquely urban compared to other counties: approximately 32 percent of residents live in the city, by his estimation. As a result, police respond to a greater number of urban quality-of-life complaints.

"It's really surprising to me," Carney said of the report. "I don't believe police are targeting people based on race or going after people using marijuana in their homes."

Like the New York Police Department, Schenectady officials use intelligence-driven strategies, sending more patrols into high-crime areas, which are often communities of color.

In New York City, this proactive approach has led to a disproportionate number of arrests of black and Hispanic people and perceptions of racial bias.

The report incorporates 18 years of data, which may skew the results. Police in Schenectady have moved towards a model of community policing over the past decade, with "transformational" results, Angelicia Morris of the county Human Rights Commission said.

"I work very closely with the police as well as the chief to solve problems of quality of life. But from a human rights perspective, if there is a bias going on targeting blacks over whites, that has to be addressed," Morris said.

The data excludes violations, typically associated with possession arrests, which are not collected by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. It does include misdemeanors such as burning marijuana in public and the sale of marijuana, which are typically associated with quality of life complaints, law enforcement officials note.

Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford said he recognizes that there is room for improvement and has asked his analyst to pull arrest numbers from the past five years to better understand the data.

"This is not the first time this has been brought to our attention that there is a racial disparity, but it's certainly not our intent," he said. "We know we aren't going to be able to arrest ourselves out of a problem. ... We have been taking a more social approach."

Correction: The Times Union erroneously reported in an earlier version of this article that thousands of marijuana arrests were made in Albany County and Monroe County in one year, based on data that had been mislabeled in a report from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The figures reflect the number of low-level marijuana arrests made over an 18-year period.