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The unconscionable murder of Sonya Massey by former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson is beyond defense. After calling for help, welcoming uniformed officers into her home, and engaging in conversation, yet another life has been cut short. We cannot continue to allow harmful and deadly policing practices to terrorize our communities.  Elected leaders, community advocates, and law enforcement officials must continue working together to create safer, more just communities – not ones where people consider if their lives are worth calling the people charged with protecting them. We stand with her family, friends, and community to call for justice.

The gun violence during today’s presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is a distressing demonstration of the fraught tensions currently at play throughout the nation. We must be clear: violent actions and rhetoric have no place in politics. Today’s actions were reprehensible. We are saddened to learn of the loss of life and injuries sustained, including the injury of the former President. 

Tonight’s presidential debate and the continual dialogue around public safety is a reminder that data doesn’t lie. However, sometimes some people do. The rhetoric around violent crime surges, and the suggestion that more police and more police funding is needed to secure safety is a narrative built on false pretense. It is time for our national and local leaders to focus on alternative crisis responses and building stronger communities rather than having rapid responses that risk escalating violence. As crime continues to decline, the inaccurate rhetoric from some continues to rise. At the Center for Policing Equity, we aim to provide science and storytelling to support community-led efforts in reducing harm and improving public safety. For us to achieve safer policing outcomes and more united communities, we need to recognize that while no one ever wants to be a victim of a crime, it’s equally dangerous to lie and say

The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) announces the publication of a new study, Mortality Classification for Deaths that Follow the Use of Non-Firearm Force by Police: A National Cross-Sectional Study (United States, 2012-2021), by CPE Principal Research Scientist Justin Feldman with co-authors Dr. Tracey Lloyd Senior Vice President, Science & Technology, and Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon Co-founder and CEO of CPE.  The study was conducted in order to understand better how coroners and medical examiners categorize deaths in police custody that follow chokeholds, taser use, physical restraint, and other non-firearm force. Researchers looked specifically at (1) how often such death investigations were classified by investigators as homicides vs. accidental and (2) how often cause-of-death statements mentioned that use-of-force was involved. Key findings include: The National Association of Medical Examiners suggests classifying deaths from police subdual and restraint as homicide, yet only 29% of deaths during the 10-year span examined were classified

This week, the Washington Post published an investigation detailing the sexual crimes perpetrated by police officers against children across the country. The Center for Policing Equity is appalled by what the Washington Post reporters uncovered, from the crimes themselves to the failure of our criminal legal system to properly sentence, and in some cases even charge, the officers convicted of these crimes. To read that 40% of convicted officers were not sentenced to prison is horrific. To read that some of those failures to convict were a direct result of disrupted investigations, the destruction of evidence, and the intimidation of victims and their families is infuriating. Whether it be domestic violence or abuse of community members in the course of their work, we affirm the need for a national tracking system for officers accused of or convicted of heinous crimes. Law enforcement agencies must redesign their hiring practices and implement processes for supervising, reporting

“I can’t breathe.” Four years ago, George Perry Floyd, Jr. uttered these last words as his life was taken from him in a cruel display of police brutality. His words, and the subsequent video of his murder, enraged the entire world. From Bristol to Rio de Janeiro to Sydney, protestors defied pandemic lockdown orders to demand a reimagining of our public safety system. A system designed with policies that fuel racist actions, permit the use of unnecessary violence, and far too often lack police accountability. Known as a “Gentle Giant,” George Floyd devoted himself to the work of anti-violence in his community through mentorship and volunteerism. He was a beloved father, grandfather, and friend. The life he was building for himself, however, could not overcome the racist policies and outdated training so pervasive in law enforcement.  On May 25, 2020, George Floyd’s murderer, a White police officer, shirked his duty

The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) announces exciting updates to the organization’s executive leadership team with the promotion of Deanna Carrithers to Executive Vice President of Operations and Dr. Khalilah M. Harris to Executive Vice President of Program Strategy. Before their promotions, Harris served as the Chief Strategic Advisor to the CEO, and Carrithers served as Chief of Staff to the Co-Founder, President, and COO at the Center for Policing Equity.  “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead a team of exceptional mission-driven individuals,” said Deanna Carrithers. “I am excited to collaborate with each member of the operations team to co-create new ways to drive impact in public safety redesign efforts by building upon the remarkable work already underway. Together, we will continue to work with communities and justice partners to forge new pathways.”  “I am truly honored to be entrusted with leading the program strategy team at CPE,”

The Center for Policing Equity fully supports college students exercising their First Amendment rights. While there are reports that a small minority of protesters have used despicable hate speech and vile anti-semitism—that absolutely merits response in the interest of public safety—law enforcement should never be used as a remedy for non-violent protests, as the majority of recent campus activism has been described. Witnessing this wave of civil unrest, disturbing images of confrontation, and reports of students’ housing and meal plans being ripped away, we are particularly disturbed that it is often universities themselves who are calling for law enforcement intervention. This is unfair to students, could result in the deportation of some, and undermines our systems of learning.  As we have seen at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., law enforcement agencies often do not see a need to—and do not wish to—intervene in these protests. Universities must honor their public obligation to be incubators of intellectual exploration in a

The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) announces the publication of Redesigning Public Safety: Substance Use white paper. The latest white paper in our ongoing Redesigning Public Safety Resource Series summarizes the overwhelming evidence supporting the need to center responses to substance use on harm reduction and community resource investment rather than prioritizing punishment. It is published along with an accompanying community toolkit focused on leveraging new funding opportunities to respond to the opioid crisis. “As Black communities continue to suffer from the dual harms of rising rates of drug overdose and decades of inequitable enforcement, we must be guided by abundant evidence that shows there is no way to punish our way out of a public health crisis,” said Scarlet Neath, CPE Policy Director. “The experiences and expertise of communities already building innovative programs were used to inform today’s publication to meet the multifaceted needs of neighbors who use drugs. We hope these recommendations