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  4. March 2022
  5. Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls

  • Mark Hoekstra
  • CarlyWill Sloan
American Economic Review
vol. 112, no. 3, March 2022
(pp. 827–60)
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Abstract

This paper examines race and police use of force using data on 1.6 million 911 calls in two cities, neither of which allows for discretion in officer dispatch. Results indicate White officers increase force much more than minority officers when dispatched to more minority neighborhoods. Estimates indicate Black (Hispanic) civilians are 55 (75) percent more likely to experience any force, and five times as likely to experience a police shooting, compared to if White officers scaled up force similarly to minority officers. Additionally, 14 percent of White officers use excess force in Black neighborhoods relative to our statistical benchmark.

Citation

Hoekstra, Mark, and CarlyWill Sloan. 2022. "Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls." American Economic Review, 112 (3): 827–60. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201292

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • H76 State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories
  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
  • K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
  • R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics