Racial Bias in Police Officer Deadly Force Decisions

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides a critical overview of experimental studies of racial bias in police shootings, with a focus on methodological and statistical quality. The most informative studies include police officers making decisions in shooting simulators; these are few in number but do not provide strong evidence of anti-Black bias. The least informative studies include undergraduates making decisions with computer tasks; these are plentiful and provide some evidence of anti-Black bias in response times. One consistent finding using shooting simulators is the importance of suspect behavior and situational information, features which are absent in computer tasks. Although process analyses have been attempted, progress has been inhibited by a narrow conceptualization of the decision to shoot. Strengths and weaknesses of all experimental approaches are discussed, with the overarching theme that researchers have missed opportunities to generate a strong and useful body of knowledge on this important topic.