Thread by @samswey

Mapping Police Violence just released a report finding 2021 was one of the *worst years for deadly police violence on record.* See the report at policeviolencereport.org. Here are some of the key findings from our analysis (1/x)…

In 2021 police killed at least 1,134 people. The majority of these killings began with a mental health crisis, traffic violation, disturbance, other non-violent offense or situation with no crime alleged. Only 1 in 3 cases began with a reported violent crime. (2/x)

Police disproportionately killed Black people and Latinos in 2021 - especially when unarmed. Black people have consistently been killed by police at higher rates - and have been unarmed at higher rates - for as far back as data exists on this issue. (3/x)

Only 11 of the 1,134 police killings in 2022 have resulted in officers being charged with a crime. Officers have been charged in fewer than 3% of all cases from 2013-21 and in most cities/counties no officers were charged for any killings during this period. BUT…

In places where officers DO get prosecuted for killing people, it’s disproportionately Black women prosecuting them. From 2013-21 Black women were:
1% of all elected prosecutors
9% of prosecutors charging police
13% of those convicting police
20% of those charging in 2+ cases

We also looked at emerging efforts to create alternatives to some of the most common situations where police kill people. In cities reporting data on mental health first responder programs, the programs appear to be working but need to be scaled substantially.

Some places also tried to restrict police traffic enforcement, especially for equipment violations (tinted windows, broken light, etc). In Berkeley, this policy reduced equipment violation stops but only slightly reduced traffic stops overall. Need a more transformative approach.

At least 57% of killings by police in 2021 were mental health crises, stops for traffic violations, or situations police in many other countries routinely handle without considering deadly force. Alternatives to these situations, scaling even further over time, could save lives.

That’s probably an underestimate. We examined media reports, police/DA statements & databases like Fatal Encounters. But many cases are still likely skewed by police narratives. And the federal govt has failed to produce an official database on this issue. washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2021…

Read the full report at policeviolencereport.org. We’ll continue to collect and analyze data on police violence this year - and tracking data on emerging alternatives to policing too.

Shout out to the incredible researchers and data viz experts who helped me produce this report - @moncketeer @MaryLagman @backspace.