ABOUT US
Introducing Policing Equity
Current public safety systems in the United States and beyond deliver neither safety nor justice. Redesigning these systems calls for bolder action grounded in good science. To answer this call, we have always applied a practical scientific approach to our structure and methodologies. Our mission is focused on reducing the harm caused by systemic racism, strengthening the connection between policy and progress, and collaborating with communities to secure Black liberation.
At the Center for Policing Equity, we are a team of advocates, scientists, policy experts, community engagement specialists, and former law enforcement professionals measuring the impact of alternatives to policing and mapping pathways and creating tools to foster community-led public safety redesign efforts. Every Black person around the globe deserves to live free safely in public without the looming threat of institutional violence. Equity needs to be systemic. Safety needs to be systemic. As such, we are using science to make freedom systemic. Such a world benefits us all.
Our mission
Our mission is to unlock bolder action towards Black liberation through accountability in public safety systems and community-driven public safety redesign.
Justice Navigators Assessments Completed
Public Roll outs Events have taken place
Data Gap Analyses Completed
Police Departments have utilized our partnerships and interventions
Our Founding Story
“For 250 years the system has worked as intended. And that should inspire change.” – Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon (f.k.a. Goff) Co-Founder & CEO
Our organization started when Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon, an award-winning psychologist and international leader in the science of racial bias, and Dr. Tracie L. Keesee, an internationally recognized human rights official, former police chief and veteran law enforcement officer, met at Stanford University’s Policing and Racial Bias Conference. There, the two discovered a shared vision for reducing racial disparities in policing by integrating data-driven and community-centered interventions into law enforcement practices.
INITIAL SUCCESSES AT THE DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT
Their conversations led to an unprecedented partnership between the Denver Police Department and Dr. Solomon’s research team. The result was a new research model and actionable results for Denver Police Academy, including changes to their disciplinary policies to increase transparency and accountability. Just as important, the unique partnership between scientists and law enforcement paved the way for the first national database examining police behavior, the National Justice Database, and later led to the development of the Justice Navigator, an interactive tool that makes police data analysis more transparent.
Inspired by this initial success, Dr. Solomon and Dr. Keesee expanded their partnership to form a research and action center made up of advocates, data scientists, community organizers, former law enforcement, and policy experts eager to redesign public safety systems around the world. Since our founding, we have done the work by connecting with leaders who want to enact change in their communities and police departments and then developed the tools to make that change a reality. Together, using sound science and bold action, we can move the world toward Black liberation and freedom for all.
