Yet another study shows that police officers are biased and Black people are unfairly targeted.
Again and again, it is well understood that we need to reform law enforcement. No one should be subject to the constant fear of being stopped simply because of the color of their skin, yet study after study reminds us this is the system we have.
Our research, published in June 2024, used data on the racial composition of drivers on every street in Chicago. We then compared who is driving on roads with who is being ticketed by the city's speed cameras and who is being stopped by the Chicago police.
Our findings show that when speed cameras are doing the ticketing, the proportion of tickets issued to Black and white drivers aligns closely with their respective share of roadway users. With human enforcement, in contrast, police officers stop Black drivers at a rate that far outstrips their presence on the road.
For instance, on roads where half of drivers are Black, Black drivers receive approximately 54% of automated camera citations. However, they make up about 70% of police stops.
On roadways where half of the drivers are white, white drivers account for around half of automated citations – and less than 20% of police stops.
The Convsersation
Previously:
• Facebook hate group investigation reveals 400 police officers, including NYPD cops, to be members