Delores Jones-Brown
Professor Of Law, Police Science And Criminal Justice, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice
Key Findings
- Police officers have killed approximately 1,000 people per year since January 2015, with Black Americans being significantly over-represented.
- In almost every incident where an officer was charged with deadly force, the victim was unarmed.
- Factors that indicate whether or not an officer will be convicted for use of deadly force include cases where the victim was shot in the back, there is a recording of the incident, there is supporting testimony from other officers or there is evidence of a cover-up.
- Nearly 75% of officers charged with deadly force were White and two-thirds of the victims were racial or ethnic minorities, primarily Black.
- One-third of cases against police officers on deadly force led to a conviction.
- Since 2015, nearly one-third of unarmed victims killed by the police were Black men.
- Even when noncombatative and unarmed, Black Americans have a statistically higher risk of being shot by the police compared to White Americans.
- There is evidence of some type of racial bias in White officers against Black civilians that was not found to be reciprocated in Black officer/White civilian groupings.
Description
In the article, “Convicted: Do Recent Cases Represent a Shift in Police Accountability? A Research Note,” Jones-Brown and her co-author examine police accountability for using deadly force. With the increased visibility of police officers’ use of force, the public has demanded more transparency and justice for killings of unarmed Black citizens. To conduct their study, the authors examined outcomes of three cases of police use of force from 1994 to 2009 as well as other public data on the topic through 2019. The results showed that police officers have killed approximately 1,000 people per year since January 2015, with Black Americans being significantly over-represented. Data from the Washington Post showed that in almost every incident where an officer was charged with deadly force, the victim was unarmed. Factors that indicate whether or not an officer will be convicted for use of deadly force include cases where the victim was shot in the back, there is a recording of the incident, there is supporting testimony from other officers or there is evidence of a cover-up. Additionally, the researchers found that 75% of officers charged with deadly force were White and two-thirds of the victims were racial or ethnic minorities, primarily Black. Data from the Associated Press showed that one-third of cases against police officers on deadly force led to a conviction. Another Washington Post data set showed that since 2015, nearly one-third of unarmed victims killed by the police were Black men. Even when noncombatative and unarmed, Black Americans have a statistically higher risk of being shot by the police compared to White Americans. The authors note that though this data has a higher representation of Black Americans, it cannot be concluded whether it is related to systematic racism or another factor. An Associated Press finding suggested some type of racial bias in White officers against Black civilians that was not found to be reciprocated in Black officer/White civilian groupings. In conclusion, the researchers note the trend of activism to provide justice and hold police officers accountable and suggest further research to pinpoint further racial effects.