Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“An officer’s testimony that he/she feared for his/her life, that he/she was in a high-crime area, that it was late at night, and that he/she thought the suspect had a gun, will often be enough to support the conclusion that the officer acted reasonably."

“White Americans tend to believe that the police and the courts are fair… Consequently, White Americans are less likely to endorse protests as helpful or positive, and are quicker to label those engaged in collective action as ‘thugs’ or ‘criminals.'"

“These results raise the possibility of a particularly vicious cycle … it is easy to imagine how an erosion in public trust could lead to increased unreasonable force, further eroding public trust."

“Vicarious experiences clearly play an important role among African Nova Scotian women: despite rarely having confrontations with the police… awareness of the negative experiences faced by the Black men and boys in their lives shaped how participants perceived the police."

“Controlling for the severity of the offense… law enforcement is significantly less likely to take a report and significantly less likely to make an arrest when the crime is hate motivated.” & “Police response to hate crime…[is] very differently from non-hate… crimes."

12% of local police officers are black; 4% of local police chiefs are black; 12% of local police officers are female; 3% of local police chiefs are female

“State self-defense laws provide a legal mechanism through which residents of a neighborhood can…intimidate, punish…effectively allowing residents of White neighborhoods to police people who stand out…because of their race and ensuring that [they] never fully belong."

“Confronting our complicity in perpetuating racism is much more difficult than simply acknowledging our implicit bias…sacrificing true progress on the altar of smug self-congratulation…. Condemn tiki-torch Nazis but…fail to take on…substantive programs for…justice”

“Overall, it is clear that the ostensible aim of technologies to quell uneven practices such as racial profiling, can end up misaligning with those stated aims or being directly inimical to them; instead further racializing vulnerable groups under the cloak of impartiality."