Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“Race/ethnicity and gender shaped the encounters between … low-income youth and police … Black and Latina young women experienced a higher frequency of negative encounters … and a lack of law enforcement response when they were under threat."

“Negative stereotypes about Blacks being lazy and perceptions about police’s excessive use of force whenever they encounter Blacks predicted 27% of the variation in stated vote preferences” between Trump and Clinton.

“Once arrested, people of color are also likely to be charged more harshly than whites; once charged, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to face stiff sentences—all after accounting for… crime severity and criminal history."

“Police stop, search, and arrest sex workers using condoms as evidence to support prostitution charges… Fear of arrest overwhelmed their need to protect themselves from HIV, other [STDs] and pregnancy.” & Risks are “more marked in transgender persons of color."

“From [the police] perspective, racism has not been perpetuated if the officer is not racist. In this case, the officer was just looking for criminals… [But the] idea of what a ‘criminal’ looks like is based on a racial stereotype."

"[UK] Black women are more than twice as likely to be arrested as white women in the general population but 10% less likely than white women to be proceeded against following an arrest. This could suggest an over-use of arrest powers, where there is weaker evidence…"

“Those from BME groups were 3 times as likely to be stopped and searched as those who are White. In particular, those who are Black (or Black British) were over 6 times more likely to be stopped. In both cases these figures were higher than the previous year."