Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“Blacks were more likely to be stopped compared to both their Census and accident data estimates. This is the only racial/ethnic group in this analysis that is consistently stopped in greater proportion than their driving population would indicate."

“Pervasive stereotypes linking Blacks and Latinos with violence, crime, and even specifically weapons are likely to cause [police] to make misattributions in…the intentions and behaviors of citizens. This can lead to racially disparate rates of…arrests and use of force."

“The science tells us that if you hire from the human race, you’re going to be hiring biased individuals. There’s an extensive and growing body of research across all professions—… yes, police as well… [But] the stakes for policing are so incredibly high."

“Police killings were positively and significantly associated with syphilis and gonorrhoea rates among Black residents. Each additional police killing in 2015 was associated with syphilis rates that were 7.5% higher and gonorrhoea rates that were 4.0% higher in 2016."

“Arrest-driven aggressive order maintenance strategies directly affect people of color. Greater race, class, and gender inequality was associated with higher order maintenance arrest rates of Black residents even after … crime rates, and other … factors were controlled."

“A criminal suspect with a prior record is substantially more apt than a suspect without a criminal record to be arrested by police.” & “Black suspects with a prior criminal history also fail to have an elevated likelihood of arrest unless they target White victims."

“Black drug arrests are likelier in predominantly White … neighborhoods. Unlike their White counterparts, … Black drug offenders [don’t] travel to White neighborhoods to engage in drug offending… Officers' raised suspicion of Blacks in White areas…"

“African American women may need more extensive resources to maintain their safety… Funds may do more good if directed toward improving … shelter-based organizations, rather than focusing solely on criminal justice system response to domestic violence."

“Black victims were less likely than white and Hispanic/Latino victims to have received any given service. Among those who were unaware of services, black victims were much more likely to be interested."