Law enforcement agencies across the country have failed to provide us with statistics on police killings. In fact, although 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act mandated the attorney general to “acquire data about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers” across the nation and to “publish an annual summary of the data acquired,” such data collection efforts faltered. There is no official count of the number of people killed by police. In recent years, in the response to high-profile police killings of unarmed Black men and women which captured the Nation’s attention and the dearth of reliable federal data, various organizations have begun tracking individual shootings by local police across the nation. Visit one such effort to track police killings:
https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
Explore the data contained on the site and report back your thoughts on this tracking effort. Answer these questions: Why do we need to know the statistics on police killings? Why such data have not been collected officially by the FBI or any other federal agency?
Please leave at least three comments. One is your original contribution. And two comments are you replies to your classmates. Deadline: 09/19/21, 11:59 pm.
31 thoughts on “Discussion Forum 3: Mapping Police Violence”
We need to know the statistics on police killings in order to make sure that justice is served for the victims. If there is a pattern in police killings on a certain race, then there is a problem because it is a racial discrimination motive at this point. From the information that I read on the police tracking website, it shows that black people are 3x more likely to be killed by police than white people. Also, they are 1.3x more likely to be unarmed than white people. Yet, they are being killed more. On top of this, a majority of the police officers killing the black people are white! Police officers are getting away with all these murders that are being covered up as a defense. As you can see from the statistics, “98.3% of killings by police from 2013-2020 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime.” Most of the cases of police officers being convicted has been dismissed as not guilty. This conflict of police officers killing innocent black people does have to do with a hate crime or racial discrimination.Out of the first 7 months in 2021, there has only been 9 days where police did not kill someone. This is a huge problem that should be spoken about more often. There needs to be change because this is not right. These statistics should be used to make a change. It is proof of what is being done by the police, population decrease is an effect too. I believe that such data have not been collected officially by the FBI or any other federal agency because they don’t really care that much. They probably don’t want to take the time out of their day to look into these killings. Also, they might be racist themselves. They believe that even though the police officers swore in, that is an excuse for their actions and that they are doing the right thing, when most of the time they aren’t.
Hi Amy, It’s very alarming to see those numbers when it comes to police killing black and latino folks, and knowing that there’s no accountability makes it even harder to process. I completely agree with you about statistics should be use to make a change, otherwise is just a waste of data just sitting there, we need to demand a change in the way police officers get away with basically anything they do. I also believe that the FBI or any other federal agency has a lot of segregation and racism within, they are part of the same system.
It’s very unfortunate what we see in today’s statistics how innocent people are being killed by officers and how they are not found guilty after their actions. In my opinion, the cases that we see here are some of the many that happen daily since not all cases are reported. Thanks to today’s technology we have been able to see some progress on this issue since many protests are being made to stop police brutality.
Hi Amy, it’s very disheartening to see almost 100% of these killings go without an officer being charged. These police officers need to be held accountable from their actions and need to stop using “self defense” as an excuse. I agree with you that if we see a pattern with police killings towards a cartain race, it’s more than a problem. They are killing based on their skin color and it’s something that need to change.
It’s sad seeing that many deaths of police causing of killing random people. Once that happens, it goes all over media and shows any detail of an video or photo of the last time and where it happened. Thanks to our media, they get caught easily now. But it’s sad for the people that shows the death of an friend, family or someone they knew all over media as well.
We need to know the statistic of police killings to remember them that some of them are overusing their power. Using the statistic we can know how many people are dying by police officers and which are the races that are more affected by this miserable action. I saw using the link that the two groups more affected and that are more killed by [police officers are Blacks and Hispanics. Police officers should be out there to protect the people and to make sure that they are safe but people are scare of them. I would say that the FBI or any other federal agency didn’t share this kind of database because it can cause a lot of problems just like it’s happening and to protect the way people see officers.
Hi Francisco. I agree with you that some police officers are overusing their power. They are also taking advantage of their power and break rules by killing innocent people under the belief of their own personal opinions. In addition, I think that the FBI chose to hide/get rid of the statistics and video proof of police officers abusing people. They probably figure that that is the best thing to do, so that they don’t get attacked and hate by the remaining populations.
I agree with you, the statistics is the only thing that shows us the reality and the injustices that’s happening and how many officers are abusing their power when their job is to take care of and protect the life of each of the citizens regardless of color or race. I also believe that the reason why federal agencies dont share this type of information is because they do not want the public to know what they are doing since it would cause citizens to become more afraid of them.
Hi Francisco, it is very upsetting to see that a lot of police officers are abusing their power, and what is even more upsetting is to see that according to the data they are doing it mostly to people of color and minorities, that has to change, police officers should be hold accountable for their actions.
705 killings by police officers so far in 2021, it has been only 9 days in 2021 where police officers have not killed someone, June seems to be the month with the most killings by police officers so far. We usually hear or watch the news where the media talks about high profile police killings, but been able to see the data, the actual numbers of police killing innocent people is a wake up call to raise our voices and demand accountability. The Chicago Police had killed black people at 22x rate over white folks from 2013-2020, that is very scary, especially knowing that 98.3% of police officers have not being charged with a crime or convicted. It’s very alarming to know that most killings by police start with non violent offenses like traffic stops, mental health check ups, and domestic disturbances. No one should be above the law, especially those who are in charge of enforce it, we should keep police officers accountable for their actions. The reason why the FBI or any other Federal agency has not collected data is because they are part of the same system where segregation and racism still exists, they know the data is there but they prefer to ignore the problem to protect police officers, police officers have the strongest union in the country which offers so much protection when it comes to try to charge a police officer with murder.
Hi Julio. I agree that it is scary knowing that 98.3% of police officers have not been convicted or charged with a crime. It seems to me that some police officers are the real suspects here. Most people they kill are unarmed too, no reason for them to be murdered. A person resisting an arrest is also not a reason to take their life. I knew that the rate of police officers killing civilians was increasing, but I did not know it was that high until I saw the statistics.
Hello Julio, I found it very surprising that at the beginning of 2021 it has been 9 days without someone getting killed by the police. The FBI or any other agency may not have a database like this but the media also plays a huge part because not a day goes by without the news mentioning violence. I agree that something needs to be something done to prevent police killings.
Hi Julio, I totally agree with the evidence of systemic racism within our policing entities. I also love that you stated how most killings begin in non-violent ways!!! This is so often the case, thank you for this view!
Hi Julio, I agree with you. Also there are probably still many police killings but of course the media doesn’t put it out there until a stranger records and shows evidence.
In my opinion, it is very important to know the statistics on police killings because it shows us what is happening around us. Police brutality is one of the most serious, enduring, and controversial human rights violations in the United States. Police are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities but when they fail us murdering people just because of how they look that’s when we understand that statistics are what keep us up to date of what goes on behind those blue uniforms. Police brutality has become more known thanks to today’s technology that has been able to capture on camera brutality in its maximum expression as in the case of George Floyd, his murder led to worldwide protests against police brutality and police racism. Thanks to mappingpoliceviolence.org we can realize that racism is a problem today as it shows that black people are most likely to be killed by police and that police killed Black people at higher rates than white people in 47 of the 50 largest US cities. Such data has not been collected by the FBI or any other federal agency because they are not interested in letting the public know such information and the brutality they are committing. The code of silence police officers have is a code that prohibits reporting the misconduct of any of them, this is an obstacle to control police misconduct or achievement of police accountability.
Hi Endrika, I agree with you that the technology we have today we are able to see what goes on behind these police brutality. We are able to see a bigger picture on how these situation escalate and not take the word from an officer.
Hello Endrika,
I agree with you that being aware of the events in the world around us–especially matters of life and death, such as police killings–is important and these statistics allow us a window into those killings. Technology has also allowed a visual, moment by moment, window into these injustices. That being said, while it might be enough for a significant portion of Americans to want to change the system of policing in America, the same cannot be said for the majority of our politicians. They pass many half-measures and quarter measures. For example qualified immunity is still in effect in most states. Another one is there still has not been sweeping effective gun control proposed or passed. Not all Americans are on the same page. A lot of people in political power are rich and they are white so they don’t experience or hear personal stories of police killings that happened to them or their family or their friends. To most people on the cocktail circuit are not of the opinion that this is a pressing issue or epic proportion and this lack of knowledge and empathy contributes to why there hasn’t been much movement in correcting these injustices.
Sincerely,
Cuffia
We need to know the statistics on police killings because they are abusing the power they have. On having the statistics, it can give us an acurracy on what race, gender, age and offence police officers are killing. It can help them pinpoint on the errors and make changes on how to handle situations in a differnet way. To think that black people only make up 13% of the population in the United States are being killed at a 28% is very alarming. How can one race that don’t make up half of the population, are being killed the most. It’s a disgrace to see officers stereotype people based on their skin color. They are there to help protect civilians, maintain communities safe and to enforce the law. So far into 9 months of this year, there has only been 10 days without an officer killing someone. This is a very concerning issue that has to change immediately. Such data haven’t been collected by the FBI or other federal agencies because I believe that they don’t want the public to see what goes on behind doors. They want to picture themselves as trustworthy, but people now a days are scared to call the police because they never know with that one phone call they will go to jail or be killed. As Anne Milgram said in her Ted Talk “When communities lose trust in the police violence can follow.”
Hi Alcira! I love how you took the stance of the fear the community has against the police and why individuals may not contact them. Socially and analytically this is very important to how we then begin to collect this data. And trust as you said is VERY important.
Hi Alcira, I definitely agree with you. The police do abuse the power they have which is a big problem and that shouldn’t be allowed to happen.
Hey Alcira, I agree with you with the police power that some people think they have but reality they don’t. They just regular people just like us protecting each other.
Alcira,
I fully agree with you about us needing to know that they are abusing their power and give us details on how in order for us to have the opportunity to fix it. I also think that bringing in the Anne Milgram quote made an important connection to how and why the policing system has all but fallen apart.
Sincerely,
Cuffia
I believe that we need to know that statistics on police killings so we can better understand where the most sever conflicts with police happen. For example if there is a significant difference in officer killings in GA as opposed to NC we can infer that something is happening in GA to incite these actions. We can also determine or begin to look into new policy that could positively effect the most at risk communities. It is important to also note that the government could not keep track of how many people were killed by police so they just stopped counting. Many police entities are given autonomy and are not looked over by the government so many reports go unnoticed or undocumented. This data has not been collected officially as I said because of the overwhelming amount of cases involving police violence. Our communities go overlooked and neglected, especially and primarily the black and brown communities. A lot of the times as well incidents of death may be counted where assaults by police and other aggressions are looked over.
Hi Jai, I agree with you that our communities go overlooked and neglected and police brutality goes overlooked as well. I also believe that the FBI or any other agency keep database like this but for their own use instead of releasing them to the public.
We must know the statistics on police killings because some police officers abuse their power and I believe each killing made by a police officer should be investigated. In mappingpoliceviolence.org, resulted that black people were 28% of those killings by police in 2020. Innocent lives have been taken by police officers due to discrimination and racial profiling. According to mappingpoliceviolence.org, police has killed 740 people in 2021. Which is very alarming due to the fact we still have 3 month remaining in the year 2021. The numbers will keep on rising if police officers are not charged with a crime. In mappingpoliceviolence.org, it reports that 98.3% of killings by police from 2013-2020 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime. This shows how very little to nothing is being done to prevent police killings. Data have not been collected officially by the FBI or any other federal agency because they probably want to sweep it under the rug and not make it known what is going on.
Hello,
We need to know these statistics in order to help provide the public with a check on the power of law enforcement officers. It keeps the public in the know and the police departments in the know and that is a space ripe for change and course correction. It also validates what black Americans were telling white Americans for decades–still, the idea that they were all lying is absurd on its face. These numbers can also bring awareness to the issue and expose more people to injustice that happens in policing in America. I imagine that the law enforcement agencies did not want to tell on themselves with these damning numbers as a possible reason for them not collecting them officially.
One thing that I found damning was that there were only ten days in the year 2021 in which the police did not kill anyone. Unfortunately, not surprising, but quite demoralizing when thinking about all the progress we need to make and what little progress we have made. I think the first stat: “Black people were 28% of those killed by police in 2020 despite being only 13% of the population”, is a really important place to start. It shows the clearly disproportionate rate at which black people are killed by police and sets people who say ‘the police kill all races so no need to focus on race as a risk factor/reason for a significant portion of the killings’. White people make up a larger percent of population so they do get killed at a higher rate, but not in a disproportionate manner like black people. This draws attention to how many black people this is affecting and how in no way it is insignificant and therefore matters at the intersection of race, economic status and injustice. Setting the stage with this, the above stat makes it clear that race plays a huge role in the murders done by the police and this then likely leads someone to take this data more seriously and understand that it is not just an issue regarding injustice but also race and economic status as well.
Sincerely,
Cuffia
We need to know the statistics on police killings because many police officers try to hide the fact that they killed someone, and the media helps them hide it unless someone records it. Many innocent black people have been killed by police officers. Police brutality has been going on for a while and it needs to be stopped. Having the statistics would help us with police brutality since many officers abuse their power. In mappingpoliceviolence.org it stated that black people were 28% of those killed by police in 2020 despite being only 13% of the population. Black people are 3x more likely to be killed by police than white people, also 1.3x more likely to be unarmed than white people. Such data have not been collected by the FBI because they try to cover up for the officers.
There’s been many deaths of police killing or accidents that involves police in it. It can’t even be organized of the deaths that happens. I believe they should have the statistics of police killing because we can’t have those people that still work for the police and doing all that dirty work. That looks dirty for people that work for the police. It should not be able to reach FBI level unless it’s really an emergency.
We need to know how many because it is absolutely wrong that no one is stopping this or demanding a change in this wrong system that most police are getting too comfortable getting away with killing people and getting away with it without justice being served FBI arent taking any of these crimes seriously due to protecting their police officers.
We need to know the statistics on police killings because we need to know which cop to be aware of if we ever get stopped by one who has killed a person. It’s more for our safety too because although cops are “good”, there are several that are not and have a dark background that they do not want people to know about. I feel like such data hasn’t been officially collected by the FBI or any other federal agency because cops want to keep themselves from having a bad reputation and it’s sad that cops are selfish like this.