Briefings on policing

Wendy Sawyer and Emily Widra | January 26, 2026

Resource spotlight: Data projects tracking police misconduct, use of force, and employment histories

The need for law enforcement transparency, oversight, and accountability has never been clearer. We highlight data projects that have helped document and investigate misconduct, as both data sources and as models for others who want to contribute to these collective efforts.

Jacob Kang-Brown and Brian Nam-Sonenstein | December 11, 2025

New ICE arrest data show the power of state and local governments to curtail mass deportations

Using fresh data on ICE arrests through mid-October from the Deportation Data Project, we examine how jails continue to facilitate mass deportation, spotlighting important opportunities for resistance at the state and local levels.

Emily Widra | December 19, 2024

Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue

New Bureau of Justice Statistics data reveal that concerning trends in policing persisted in 2022, even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior years.

Sarah Staudt | October 17, 2024

California may take a big step backwards towards more incarceration with Proposition 36

The measure would defund prevention and reentry services, and is projected to grow the state prison population by 35% over the next 5 years.

Emma Ruth | January 8, 2024

Force multipliers: How the criminal legal and child welfare systems cooperate to punish families

Child protective service agencies position themselves as providers of welfare, but their relationship to the criminal legal system demonstrates their shared role in punishing families and exacerbating the conditions that lead to system involvement in the first place.

Brian Nam-Sonenstein | August 15, 2023

High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”

Research shows that while most people who miss court are not dangerous or evading justice, the way courts treat “failure to appear” may make our communities less safe.

Leah Wang | December 22, 2022

New data: Police use of force rising for Black, female, and older people; racial bias persists

New survey data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on police interactions in 2019 and 2020 provide the broadest look at relations between police officers and the public. The findings leave a lot to be desired (as they’re primarily pre-pandemic), but the message is clear: police are still a massive presence in our communities, and they don’t always provide the solutions and safety we need.

Wendy Sawyer | March 24, 2022

Untangling why prison & jail populations dropped early in the pandemic

Reductions in prison and jail populations were due to COVID-related slowdowns in the gears of the criminal legal system. Without intentional action, these reductions will be erased.

Leah Wang | October 8, 2021

The U.S. criminal justice system disproportionately hurts Native people: the data, visualized

We’re lucky when criminal justice data is broken down by race and ethnicity enough to see how Native populations are criminalized and incarcerated. Here’s a roundup of what we know.

Emily Widra and Wendy Sawyer | August 28, 2020

Policing resource round-up: Where to find data, advocacy materials, and more information about American policing

A list of the most valuable online resources from organizations focused on policing.

Wendy Sawyer | July 27, 2020

Visualizing the racial disparities in mass incarceration

Racial inequality is evident in every stage of the criminal justice system - here are the key statistics compiled into a series of charts.

Alexi Jones and Wendy Sawyer | June 5, 2020

Not just “a few bad apples”: U.S. police kill civilians at much higher rates than other countries

Police violence is a systemic problem in the U.S., not simply incidental, and it happens on a scale far greater than other wealthy nations.

Wendy Sawyer | June 5, 2020

Ten key facts about policing: Highlights from our work

Police disproportionately target Black and other marginalized people in stops, arrests, and use of force; and are increasingly called upon to respond to problems, such as homelessness, that are unrelated to public safety.

Alexi Jones | October 12, 2018

Police stops are still marred by racial discrimination, new data shows.

So why does Trump continue to endorse stop-and-frisk?

Elliot Oberholtzer | August 23, 2017

Police, courts, jails, and prisons all fail disabled people

Disabled people are overrepresented in all interactions with the criminal justice system, and at all points, the system is failing them.

Alex Clark and Joshua Aiken | August 11, 2017

Seizing Chicago: Drug stings and asset forfeiture target the poor

Instead of protecting Chicago's communities, state asset forfeiture practices and drug stings set up by federal agents target low-income, Black, and Latino residents, setting them up to fail.

Lucius Couloute | June 8, 2017

Data confirms that police treat Black Americans with less respect

New research out of Stanford University substantiates what Black America has always known – that police officers treat Blacks differently than they do whites.

Stay Informed

Share on 𝕏 Donate

Stay Informed

Support us

Briefings on policing

Resource spotlight: Data projects tracking police misconduct, use of force, and employment histories

The need for law enforcement transparency, oversight, and accountability has never been clearer. We highlight data projects that have helped document and investigate misconduct, as both data sources and as models for others who want to contribute to these collective efforts.

New ICE arrest data show the power of state and local governments to curtail mass deportations

Using fresh data on ICE arrests through mid-October from the Deportation Data Project, we examine how jails continue to facilitate mass deportation, spotlighting important opportunities for resistance at the state and local levels.

Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue

New Bureau of Justice Statistics data reveal that concerning trends in policing persisted in 2022, even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior years.

California may take a big step backwards towards more incarceration with Proposition 36

The measure would defund prevention and reentry services, and is projected to grow the state prison population by 35% over the next 5 years.

Force multipliers: How the criminal legal and child welfare systems cooperate to punish families

Child protective service agencies position themselves as providers of welfare, but their relationship to the criminal legal system demonstrates their shared role in punishing families and exacerbating the conditions that lead to system involvement in the first place.

High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”

Research shows that while most people who miss court are not dangerous or evading justice, the way courts treat “failure to appear” may make our communities less safe.

New data: Police use of force rising for Black, female, and older people; racial bias persists

Untangling why prison & jail populations dropped early in the pandemic

Reductions in prison and jail populations were due to COVID-related slowdowns in the gears of the criminal legal system. Without intentional action, these reductions will be erased.

The U.S. criminal justice system disproportionately hurts Native people: the data, visualized

We’re lucky when criminal justice data is broken down by race and ethnicity enough to see how Native populations are criminalized and incarcerated. Here’s a roundup of what we know.

Policing resource round-up: Where to find data, advocacy materials, and more information about American policing

A list of the most valuable online resources from organizations focused on policing.

Visualizing the racial disparities in mass incarceration

Racial inequality is evident in every stage of the criminal justice system - here are the key statistics compiled into a series of charts.

Not just “a few bad apples”: U.S. police kill civilians at much higher rates than other countries

Police violence is a systemic problem in the U.S., not simply incidental, and it happens on a scale far greater than other wealthy nations.

Ten key facts about policing: Highlights from our work

Police disproportionately target Black and other marginalized people in stops, arrests, and use of force; and are increasingly called upon to respond to problems, such as homelessness, that are unrelated to public safety.

Police stops are still marred by racial discrimination, new data shows.

So why does Trump continue to endorse stop-and-frisk?

Police, courts, jails, and prisons all fail disabled people

Disabled people are overrepresented in all interactions with the criminal justice system, and at all points, the system is failing them.

Seizing Chicago: Drug stings and asset forfeiture target the poor

Instead of protecting Chicago's communities, state asset forfeiture practices and drug stings set up by federal agents target low-income, Black, and Latino residents, setting them up to fail.

Data confirms that police treat Black Americans with less respect

New research out of Stanford University substantiates what Black America has always known – that police officers treat Blacks differently than they do whites.

Stay Informed

Recommended Reading:

The unmet health needs of people in prison

All profit, no risk

Compare your state's use of the prison to the world at large

Prison Gerrymandering Project