Studies

Research on racial bias in policing

“Grand jurors [must] contemplate the relevance of race in … the officer’s decision to kill… Correcting a colorblind vision also will help grand jurors to understand what is often cast as the evasive and uncooperative actions of the black victim of police violence."

“Profilers, whether they be police officers or lay citizens, invite the hand (and force) of law enforcement into a situation where there is no need for law enforcement… The object of the profiling—in this case African-Americans—are at the mercy of the officer’s judgment."

“People in the community used to think it was going to be great when Blacks and gays and women are in the force. [But they were] teaching that institutional loyalty over personal integrity. If people show moral courage, we don’t give them awards. We … call them ‘rats.'"

“Citizens of black neighborhoods were far less likely to report crimes to the police” & “Cooperation of neighborhood residents with law enforcement, including crime reporting, turns on how police use their authority, and how fair the exercise of their authority is perceived”

“If it is simply ‘driving while different’ that explains the attention given to minorities in majority White places, one would expect to find equal[] … police response for White people… in Black neighborhoods… Results imply bias that only runs… against Black people."

"[As of 2019], the intensive policing practices in poor Black communities show no sign of having been eased and have probably been reinstated in many places with federal support."

“A towering heap of studies suggest that US drug-control policies and practices are harmful, oppressive, or problematic, particularly for predominantly Black and Latinx communities."

“Data show discretionary stops by police in Connecticut (sometimes called pretext stops) are twice as high for Blacks than Whites with no scientific evidence or information to justify the difference in rates.” (Cato T. Laurencin @UConn)

“Black Americans were grossly over-represented in … Newark’s drug arrests. When controlling for legally relevant factors … Black arrests reflected racialized policing. … [and] increased in communities with greater White … populations."