General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Oh Fuck. This is what it's like being a black man in America. [View all]jayschool2013
(2,433 posts)Real scholars do real research on this subject. I'll just point you to one for now.
Joshua Correll at the University of Colorado in Boulder, along with several colleagues, wrote this paper, which has been cited 500 times in subsequent research. The basic conclusion: "Yes, cops are biased, but no more so than the rest of society, and probably less so."
"The data presented here suggest that, although police officers
may be affected by culturally shared racial stereotypes (i.e., showing
bias in their response times), they are no more liable to this bias
than are the people who live and work in their communities.
Further, at least on the simulation used here, the officers ultimate
decisions about whether or not to shoot are less susceptible to
racial bias than are the decisions of community members. The data
suggest that the officers training and/or expertise may improve
their overall performance (yielding faster responses, greater sensitivity
and reduced tendencies to shoot) and decrease racial bias in
decision outcomes."
My takeaway: Cops still need to work to reduce racial bias, but this idea that the rest of society should also be armed is poppycock because bias will create even more inequity when we're shooting at each other.