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Samuel Sinyangwe

Jan 21 • 11 tweets • 5 min read

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.

@moncketeer

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

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More from @samswey

Samuel Sinyangwe

@samswey

Jan 19

A nationwide public initiative process would be a far superior mechanism of governance than the United States Senate.

You’d preserve the Presidency and US House (the more representative institutions) and where those (or the courts) fall short you’d have direct democracy with initiatives to cut through institutional barriers and enact laws (even constitutional amendments with a higher threshold).

Policies broadly supported like addressing economic inequality, etc are unlikely to happen under the existing system because the politicians who get elected are almost exclusively wealthy and refuse broaden access. But they might happen if it were put directly on the ballot.

Read 5 tweets

Samuel Sinyangwe

@samswey

Jan 16

https://twitter.com/dthekingpin/status/1481997467281510410

You can’t name a single thing in Tim Scott’s bill that would’ve made a measurable difference in police violence rates. Not a thing.

https://twitter.com/dthekingpin/status/1481997467281510410

Tim Scott’s bill restricts but doesn’t ban chokeholds, which most police agencies already do and that wouldn’t even prevent the fewer than 1% of killings by police that are due to chokeholds.

His bill encourages better data collection but the federal government has already proven inept and unwilling to use their existing authority to collect or share useful data on police violence. Moreover, that data is being collected anyway (see: policescorecard.org)

Read 4 tweets

Samuel Sinyangwe

@samswey

Jan 16

https://twitter.com/tiffanyruns/status/1482520476534509570

That same study found more cops = more low level arrests especially of Black people. Low level arrests are linked to more use of force and police shootings (which result in 1 in every ~14 homicides). But the potential increase in police killings isn’t factored into the analysis.

https://twitter.com/tiffanyruns/status/1482520476534509570

Even if not killed initially, those low level arrests often lead to incarceration. Incarceration *increases* death rates for Black people by 65%. So those arrests end up killing people too (and harming communities). This also isn’t factored into the study. jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

Meanwhile the study’s claim that more cops reduce homicides is also shaky. Even after they fail to factor in negative impacts, increasing the police force “decreased” in homicides 54% of the time (and didn’t 46% of the time). So it’s still basically a coin toss. Not a solution.

Read 4 tweets

Samuel Sinyangwe

@samswey

Dec 27, 2021

Ok, I’ve been trying to find an answer to this question but nobody has had it yet. How many people have the LAPD fatally shot this year? Let me explain…

https://twitter.com/steffdaz/status/1475497637004513283

Today the AP reported that the LAPD fatally shot the 18th person this year. That includes 1 person killed today, two people on 12/23, and two people on 12/18, as reported by LA Times. BUT…

https://twitter.com/steffdaz/status/1475497637004513283

On 10/15, LA Times reported LAPD had killed 11 people including someone on 10/13. By 12/23 they reported 17 people had been killed (18 after today). latimes.com/california/sto…

Read 4 tweets

Samuel Sinyangwe

@samswey

Dec 20, 2021

It took less than two years for the police to convince politicians and the media to initiate a whole new phase of mass incarceration at a time when crime remains at historic lows.

Absolutely none of what they’re doing has anything to do with the facts. Crime is down, but the narrative is all about a “crime wave.” Theft/property crime is at historic lows, but the news is “retail theft wave.” Police have more $$ than ever but say they “don’t have resources.”

The one crime that *has* increased is shootings/homicides from shootings. But notice they aren’t talking about diverting police resources to focus on solving homicides. Instead it’s more money for targeting drug use or homelessness. It’s all fake narratives and fear-mongering.

Read 6 tweets