This study builds on the body of research examining whether racial disparities in criminal justice can be attributed to bias. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether there is a relationship between aggregate levels of bias and race-specific incarceration rates in U.S. counties. With data from the Vera Institute of Justice, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Harvard Project Implicit, this study uses county-level estimates of implicit and explicit biases via Multilevel Regression with Poststratification to assess the relationship between those two types of biases and Black and White prisoners in 2,825 county jails across the U.S. using negative binomial regression. Results indicate that pro-White/anti-Black explicit and implicit bias are associated with a higher population-adjusted number of Black prisoners, and fewer White prisoners, even after controlling for socioeconomic covariates and arrest rates. This research provides compelling evidence that racial bias may contribute directly to racial inequity in jail populations and that bias can be understood as a collective phenomenon impacting social systems.
Some critics argue that legal standards, even when and where equivalent, are differentially applied to officers and civilians. This study examined evaluations of justifiability and culpability for police officers versus civilians, as well as White shooters versus Black shooters, in a 2✕2 factorial experiment. It also explored how personal attitudes and characteristics correspond to those evaluations.
Methods
A national sample of 2492 online respondents evaluated culpability and justifiability involving a claim of lethal self-defense involving mistake of fact. After reviewing facts about the case, watching video of the incident, and being given jury instructions for murder and self-defense, respondents were asked to evaluate the justifiability of the shooting on a 6-point scale and render a verdict.
Results
Police officers and Black shooters were evaluated more favorably. Pre-existing confidence in the police demonstrated direct effects and interaction effects on perceived justifiability and likelihood of acquittal.
Conclusions
These results reveal a double standard that benefits police in cases of lethal self-defense. The strong correlation between pre-existing confidence in the police and acquittal of police officers indicates a need for further research on how a generalized public trust in police impacts particularized evaluations of conduct in specific cases.
The United States found itself in the center of a heated national debate on race, policing, and justice in 2014. The shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, by a white police officer sparked outrage and protests, shedding the spotlight on Ferguson. “Policing Ferguson, Policing America” dives into the heart of this time, offering an inside perspective from the man who was at the forefront of law enforcement during the entire spectacle.
FERGUSON, MO – AUGUST 13: Police Chief Thomas Jackson fields questions related to the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown during a press conference on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson has experienced three days of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
As the former Chief of Police of Ferguson, Thomas Jackson provides a personal and candid account of the events leading up to, during, and after the shooting of Michael Brown. “Policing Ferguson, Policing America” is an interesting exploration of how race and community dynamics can intersect with policing, and how it took Ferguson, and America, by storm. At first glance, this book is built on the systemic issues that arose after the shooting of Michael Brown; though upon reading it, one can easily find out that this is also a book where Jackson makes his personal objections known, all of them stemming from either the DOJ report that was written following the shooting of Michael Brown, or the misconceptions placed on the police by the media. Jackson is quick to say that the DOJ did not have the Ferguson Police Department’s best interest in mind; according to Jackson (2017), “But the Ferguson portrayed in that report was an invention, a backwards, angry place that the Justice Department created to make a show of tearing it down.” (p. 10)
This report will analyze Jackson’s narrative, including his perspective on the tragedy that took place in Ferguson and the effects it had on policing in America. It will examine Jackson’s perspectives on community policing, racial bias within law enforcement, and the broader role of the police in our society. This report will discuss whether his accounts can be seen as an objective analysis or if they appear to be steeped in the personal experiences and grievances of a former police chief.
It’s widely known that the shooting of Michael Brown garnered an abundance of media attention at the time; but according to Jackson, the media garnered an abundance of biased standpoints that were all filtered through misconceptions. He even goes so far as to say, “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody that the big news media follow the rules of the entertainment industry as much as the rules of traditional journalism.” (Jackson, 2017, p. 46)
Jackson mentions how his acquaintance working in network news described how it was being in the middle of such a media storm that was only intensified with the involvement of smartphones, social media, and crowdsourced online journalism. While still expressing concerns about the lack of controls and filters in today’s methods of spreading information, he also acknowledges the benefits of modern technology and access to information. He calls attention to the fact that when society is being bombarded with information, it’s rather hard to determine the credibility of the information being shared.
Jackson explains how misinformation about Michael Brown’s death was spread through calls, texts, and social media, which only resulted in suspicion and hostility between the public and the police. He was even alerted by the city manager, John Shaw, about the negative portrayal of the city and its police in the media. Despite the push to control the narrative being spread, Jackson was still cautious about providing information as the investigation was still in its early stages.
Jackson refers to the concept of “optics” and how it swayed the public during Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson. ‘Optics’ refers to how things appear, and Jackson touches on how at the time of the events in Ferguson, politicians and the media viewed the story through those optics, which resulted in a story that was less than true about the entire incident. He maintains his stance that the story told through tweets, videos, and pictures was a tragedy based on optics.
Jackson uses the fact that Michael Brown’s body remained in the street for hours after the shooting to show just how much optics can sway and influence the entire story surrounding a set of circumstances. The story that accompanied the sight of Michael Brown’s body still lying in the street created the narrative that it was done by the police as a sign of disrespect, not only to the victim’s family but to the African-American community as a whole, which only emphasized how appearances often take precedence over intentions in shaping public opinion. He also uses the second incident, which involved the deployment of police dogs, which immediately created a tense and negative image; that tension only continued to grow between the police, the public, and even the Department of Justice.
On September 4th, 2014, the Department of Justice (referred to as “DOJ”) started an investigation into the Ferguson Police Department (referred to as “FPD”) under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act established in 1994. The following year, they released a report titled “Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.” The report calls attention to the multiple types of biases that exist in the FPD that, when viewed altogether, make it clear that “officers expect and demand compliance even when they lack legal authority.” (DOJ, 2015, p. 2)
Following the DOJ’s investigation, Jackson accuses the department of intentionally withholding information and presenting a biased view of Ferguson’s police department and the city itself. According to him, the department refrained from discussing, understanding, or even considering alternative interpretations, but instead focused on the appearance of bias. The biases purportedly focus on the department’s habit of aiming their law enforcement towards an almost aggressive enforcement of the municipal code despite the potential of these strategies being harmful to public safety and community trust, and their habit of including the number of citations issued as a part of an officer’s evaluation. Not only was this report particularly harrowing for then-Chief Jackson, but according to him, it was “…the final nail in the coffin for our community” (Jackson, 2017, p. 122) composed of “misperceptions, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods.” (Jackson, 2017, p. 122)
A specific point of contention is the claim that Ferguson’s law enforcement efforts were primarily focused on generating revenue rather than addressing public safety needs. Despite the DOJ’s report suggesting that the city budgeted for increases in fines and fees each year, encouraging police and court staff to deliver those revenue increases, Jackson maintains that the budgeting process is a standard practice in any organization. The DOJ’s report also alluded to the practice of officers writing as many citations as possible and being rewarded for doing so. Jackson refutes this claim, stating that the number of tickets written did not play a role in evaluating officers for promotions and that said promotions were based on good police work and test scores.
The DOJ’s report raised multiple concerns for Jackson, one being how said report was not required to provide absolute proof of racial bias, but only needed to demonstrate the credible appearance of racial bias. He points out that a red flag should have been the leniency in how they approached the evidence given by the situation. He calls attention to the fact that the DOJ’s investigation relied on anonymous and/or unverified sources and that they ignored exculpatory evidence—evidence that is seen to favor a certain “side” in an investigation or case. The report mentioned violations of constitutional rights despite no legal findings being made to support this evidence, according to Jackson.
While the author recognizes that African-Americans do take up a large, disproportionate number of street stops, incarcerations, arrests, etc., he also believes wholeheartedly that we as a society have to be careful about placing the blame for all of these issues on racial bias in the police as a whole or the criminal justice system. He calls it misguided and dangerous, as it gives the police an “easy excuse” that’ll allow them to brush the mentioned problems to the side instead of actually working towards their improvement. He then discusses the origins of policing, as he believes that looking back at them can help society decide the actual role of the police. Those origins include calling the beginning of policing a “community-based enterprise,” in contrast to the widely known and widely taught fact that the early days of policing stem from slave patrols, where these individuals were tasked with finding and recapturing runaway slaves before forcing them back to their masters. In Jackson’s (2017) words:
The great irony is that policing really began as a community-based enterprise, where a constable, sheriff, or other public safety officer was a constant presence in a small town or neighborhood. That officer would know the business owners, families, and children, and could be a resource to the citizens for all kinds of assistance. As the towns and cities grew, these officers were organized into municipal forces that were paid for and regulated by the government. (p. 146)
In “Policing Ferguson, Policing America,” Jackson seems to follow a pattern of pointing out the misconceptions that are placed on police officers, both in general and those who work in the Ferguson police department, before attempting to explain how and why those claims are false. He has a habit of explaining how he personally attempted to stray from those misconceptions during his time as the chief of the Ferguson Police Department. This pattern makes the book seem more like a “think-piece”—an article or book written under the guise of being thought-provoking when, in reality, it is composed of personal opinions and analyses based on personal experience—instead of being an in-depth look into how Ferguson garnered the attention it had in 2014. He certainly provides reliable and verified information along with his personal thoughts, but due to his history of being Chief of the Ferguson Police Department, it’s nearly impossible to say that this book is completely objective in its purpose. One can even question whether Jackson’s intention was to provide an objective account of what happened in Ferguson, or if his own interpretation of the optics at work had a hand in the publication of “Policing Ferguson, Policing America.”
Racial Threat Theory posits that punitive attitudes are produced when Whites are alarmed by large or growing Black populations. While research has identified a relationship between Black composition and support from community members for more punitive criminal justice policy, no research has examined whether racial composition influences punitive attitudes among criminal justice personnel—even though they represent a key population that can engage in discrimination. This study advances our understanding of racial threat and police force by examining the relationship between Black population and punitive use-of-force attitudes on the part of police. Using survey and census data for approximately 10,000 police officers in 97 agencies, multilevel analyses reveal that officers report more punitive attitudes in jurisdictions with larger Black populations and that this relationship is concentrated among White police officers. The results provide evidence that racial disparities in police outcomes are at least partly driven by motivational criteria (such as discrimination).
Recent political rhetoric both in the U.S. and abroad has drawn renewed attention to racial and ethnic conflict, state power, and punishment. The salience of minority group conflict on incarceration is well established in theory and research in the U.S. This study explores whether racial/ethnic composition explains incarceration rates throughout the world, rather than being a peculiarity of the U.S. It also evaluates the functional form of these relationships. Analysis of up to 132 nations indicates that incarceration rates are significantly associated with ethnic diversity and ethnic polarization. The lowest incarceration rates are observed in countries with substantial homogeneity or substantial diversity. Incarceration rates are highest in countries with moderate diversity but high polarization—where a sizable minority population is present, approaching parity with a majority group. Minority group conflict may be a troublesome contributor to punishment throughout the world and is not a uniquely American phenomenon.
American roads have become deadlier than before the pandemic, and many are attributing this to a decrease in policing after the George Floyd protests of 2020. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the fatality rate, which is deaths per million miles traveled, is about 18% higher than in 2019. In contrast, other Western countries did not experience the same sustained increase in traffic deaths.
Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the GHSA, believes that the decrease in policing led to many people driving dangerously because they thought they could get away with it. He notes that there is not enough enforcement on the roads, and many police officers are hesitant to write tickets.
Seattle police officer Carol Cummings, who requested traffic stops data from the city, found that traffic citations by police were down about 86% compared to 2019. The Seattle Police Chief, Adrian Diaz, explains that this is due to staffing levels and call loads. His department lost hundreds of officers after the George Floyd protests of 2020, and he had to cut dedicated traffic details.
Susan Nembhard, a research associate with the Urban Institute, believes that traffic stops can be dangerous interactions, particularly for people of color and specifically Black people. She has argued for limiting those stops. As a result, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and even the state of Virginia have adopted formal policies limiting traffic stops for minor violations. Seattle has also instructed officers not to pull cars over for certain non-moving violations, such as expired license tags and obstructions hanging from the rear-view mirror.
While these new policies reduce the number of contacts between police and citizens, some believe that they have also reduced drivers’ impression that they’ll be stopped for more serious violations, such as running red lights. However, Adkins says that the Governors Highway Safety Association believes in equitable enforcement and could accept restrictions on stops for technical violations, as long as drivers are still stopped when they’re doing something dangerous. Cummings believes that many drivers follow the law because they know it makes sense, but some people drive dangerously, and without enough enforcement on the roads, they are the ones putting themselves and others at risk.
Is it possible to find a balance between reducing unnecessary traffic stops and ensuring public safety through traffic enforcement? The decrease in traffic stops for minor violations may have unintended consequences, such as drivers feeling that they can get away with more serious violations, and ultimately making the roads more dangerous. On the other hand, limiting these stops could also help reduce the number of dangerous interactions between police and citizens, particularly for people of color. Striking a balance between equitable enforcement and public safety is crucial to improving road safety in the United States.
Age is prominent among theories of criminology and victimology. It is less conspicuous in punishment theory, despite its emphasis in retributive theory and lawmaking. The present study evaluated competing ‘years of life lost’ and ‘vulnerable victim’ hypotheses to examine the influence of victim age in capital sentencing decisions. Using case file data on the population of capital murder trials in the State of North Carolina (1977–2009), our findings produce mixed results. Our quantitative analyses suggest that death sentences are significantly less likely in direct proportion to victim age. Killers of elderly victims are less likely to receive the death penalty; conversely, the odds of a death sentences are slightly greater for killers of child victims. Supplementary qualitative analyses suggest that while many child and elderly victims were not per se ‘vulnerable,’ a substantial subset of each clearly were treated as such. We discuss implications for vulnerable victim research and the role of quasi-legal factors in case outcomes.
Historical analyses of southern statutes (i.e., Slave Codes, Black Codes, “Jim Crow,” etc.) and their enforcement reveals evidence of an enduring cultural legacy prescribing lethal vengeance to Blacks who violate White sensibilities, especially for Black males accused of sexually assaulting White females. Using a population of official data on capital murder trials in North Carolina (1977–2009), this study examines the degree to which this cultural legacy endures to the present by examining the joint effects of offender’s race and rape/sexual assault on the capital sentencing outcomes of capital murder trial involving White female victims. Our findings reveal support for the continuing endurance of this cultural legacy of lethal vengeance.
