Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“Our data suggest a substantial overrepresentation of people with mental illness among those killed [by police]… Rates of death were the highest for African-Americans with mental illness followed by non-Hispanic Whites with mental illness."

A “preferential treatment” ethnographic “study of 30 young, middle-class drug dealers” with minimal police interaction. “The visible role of police in the community was largely restricted to enforcing traffic laws and directing traffic.” (@SJacques83)

“Racial threat and federal aid work together in shaping city police spending.” & “Receiving a large COPS grant was positively associated with police spending, especially in cities where Blacks were accounting for a larger percentage of the city population.” (@robvargas21)

“When paramilitary tactics were used in drug searches, the primary targets were people of color, whereas when paramilitary tactics were used in hostage or barricade scenarios, the primary targets were white.” “At least 54% [impacted by SWAT deployments] were minorities."

“An increase in the proportion of ethnic minority officers in a given year is significantly associated with a decrease in the number of substantiated complaints per officer in the following year.” & “Representative bureaucracy improves organizational integrity."

“Police killings of unarmed Blacks and unarmed Hispanics have a significant, positive effect on Black homicide changes.” & “The actual killings of unarmed civilians … and not just the public’s protest against them, drive the effect [of increased homicides]."

“Stop-and-frisk/search… in London and New York City, shapes the lived experiences of people of color, including students traveling to and from school… Expectations for protection while wearing school uniforms were thwarted by… adultlike treatment from law enforcement."

“Whites… rate the police somewhat less favorably in terms of job performance, trustworthiness, and fairness when the force includes mostly black officers… [A] diverse police force is likely to suffer a loss of… legitimacy among whites as compared with black citizens."

“Clearance rates are significantly lower in counties that contain greater proportions of Black residents… Controlling both crime conditions and criminal justice contexts explains virtually none of the relationship between county Black population and case clearance."