The Gray Area with Sean Illing Race, policing, and the universal yearning for safety
Sep 14, 2020
Phillip Atiba Goff, co-founder and CEO of the Center for Policing Equity and a Yale professor, delves into race and policing intricacies. He discusses the systemic nature of racial bias and the need for comprehensive research to drive meaningful change. Goff emphasizes the delicate balance between police presence and community safety, urging a redefinition of safety standards that prioritize marginalized voices. He also explores innovative crisis response models, aiming for community-driven solutions to address root issues like mental health and substance abuse.
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Policing and Bias
- Law enforcement's job description, with its inherent stress and multitasking, unintentionally encourages discriminatory behavior.
- These conditions, like fatigue and high-pressure situations, impair judgment and increase reliance on stereotypes, as shown in social psychology experiments.
Levels of Bias
- No serious expert denies racial bias in policing; the debate centers on its extent and where it manifests.
- Bias exists, but the question is at what levels—individual, community, or city—and how significantly it impacts different policing outcomes.
Three Levels of Bias
- Racial bias in policing exists on three levels: individual officer bias, community-level bias in deployment, and city-level bias in overall approach.
- Even without individual officer bias, disparities arise from how officers are deployed and the different functions of law enforcement in diverse cities.
