Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“Black boys are seen as older and less innocent … than do their White same-age peers. Further, … the Black/ape association predicted actual racial disparities in police violence toward children."

“Simply bringing to mind a Black (vs. White) juvenile offender led participants to view juveniles in general as significantly more similar to adults in their inherent culpability and to express more support for severe sentencing."

“Race shaped people’s mistakes. They falsely claimed to see a gun more often when the face was black than when it was white. Under the pressure of a split-second decision, the readiness to see a weapon became an actual false claim of seeing a weapon."

“Responses to the simulation revealed that upon initial exposure to the program, the officers were more likely to mistakenly shoot unarmed Black compared with unarmed White suspects. However, after extensive training … the officers were able to eliminate this bias."

Negative views of black people correlated with officers “shooting unarmed Black suspects on a shooting simulation… Officers with positive contact with Black people in their personal lives were particularly able to eliminate these biases with training on the simulation."

“Milwaukee’s neighborhoods, especially residents of black neighborhoods, were far less likely to report crime after [Frank] Jude’s beating was broadcast. The effect lasted for over a year and resulted in a total net loss of approximately 22,200 calls for service."

“When officers were given no information other than a face and when they were explicitly directed to make judgments of criminality, race played a significant role in how those judgments were made."

“Racial disparities in [Kansas City] police stops are concentrated in investigatory vehicle stops… The overwhelming majority of people stopped in this way are innocent, and the experience causes psychological harm and erodes trust in and cooperation with the police."

“Presence of female officers during pedestrian stops in the City of Seattle reduces racial/ethnic and male-female disparities in the probability of being frisked by police."