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With almost 20,000 police departments in the US, no national law, and inconsistent state laws regarding the recording of police violence there is always going t
by theluketaylor 5y ago
With almost 20,000 police departments in the US, no national law, and inconsistent state laws regarding the recording of police violence there is always going to be data quality issues. There are dedicated people combing through local news reports around the US trying to document police violence, but it's a nearly impossible task without a strong national law requiring police departments to inform the justice department every time they discharge a weapon.
If you decry using estimated police death information and believe the problem isn't this bad you should join anti-police activists in demanding a national database of police violence. If you believe the numbers will show police violence isn't a problem then call for action to collect the information properly.
- h2odragon 5y agoAgreed the data sucks (and is going to because the reporting is important to those reporting it); and efforts to collect better data are important and should be pursued. Estimation is a vital tool and will be even when there's better data. I'm even willing to say I suspect these folks are right about the bias in police killings. I also suspect it has more to do with perceptions of economic status than skin color. However, stretching statistics to cover opinions like this does their cause no favors, and cheapens their integrity whilst damaging their credibility.