Official Statements

CPE’s white paper offers four strategies LEAs and communities can adopt to assert autonomy over their public safety systems and protect vulnerable community members. Los Angeles, CA — Recent federal tactics have put local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) under  enormous pressure to comply with immigration enforcement efforts, with potentially serious consequences for public safety. In the Center for Policing Equity’s (CPE) new white paper titled, Cooperation Between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, we assess where collaboration between LEAs and ICE is required and where it is not, and propose four evidence-based strategies LEAs can adopt to push back against federal attempts to commandeer local resources. Fear of losing funding and other repercussions can lead LEAs to cooperate with ICE beyond what is required by law. This not only erodes trust with communities — potentially suppressing crime reporting and diminishing due process protections — […]

Research spanning nearly two decades reveals stark racial disparities and underscores urgent need for data-driven public safety reform. New Haven, CT – The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) has released a new national study titled Racial and Ethnic Inequalities for Nonfatal Legal Intervention Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments.  Authored by CPE staff members Dr. Mina Kim, Postdoctoral Research Fellow; Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder; and Dr. Justin Feldman, Principal Research Scientist, the study examines nearly two decades of emergency department data revealing that injuries inflicted by law enforcement represent a major, ongoing public health concern — and a significant driver of racial health inequities in the United States. While fatal police encounters often dominate headlines, the study finds that nonfatal injuries caused by police are far more common, with an estimated 1.5 million emergency department visits for “legal intervention injuries” between 2004 and 2021. The findings suggest

Los Angeles, CA — October 16, 2025 — For decades, the U.S. has treated gun violence like a criminal issue —not a public health crisis. A new report from the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) argues that it’s time to change that. “Community Solutions to Prevent Gun Violence: Strengthening Research and Evaluation to Build Safer Neighborhoods” explores how evidence-based community-driven strategies are saving lives and rebuilding trust — and why they’re at risk of disappearing just when they’re needed most. As federal funding wanes with Department of Justice cuts, the expiration of these initiatives hangs in the balance. Without sustained investment, programs proven to prevent shootings and interrupt cycles of harm could be forced to shut down. CPE’s report highlights: Why policing cannot be the primary response to a crisis rooted in inequity and trauma. How Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiatives (CVIPI) offer a comprehensive, compassionate alternative. What’s needed

Los Angeles, CA — September 15, 2025 — The Center for Policing Equity (CPE), in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), has released two new Justice Navigator Assessments (JNAs) analyzing policing data from LASD’s Palmdale and Lancaster stations. The findings reveal significant racial disparities in police activity and opportunities for policy and organizational changes to improve public safety outcomes and community trust.  “The reports provide community members, law enforcement and policymakers with data-driven insights that can serve as the foundation for real changes,” said Matt Graham, a senior analyst at CPE. “By surfacing disparities in police practices, we create a roadmap for safer, fairer and more effective public safety systems.” The assessments are available online:  Palmdale Station Assessment → View Full Report Lancaster Station Assessment → View Full Report Key findings include: Palmdale Station  36% of all people deputies used force against were Black, who made up

The federal government’s move to insert itself into local policing decisions in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and (soon it seems) Chicago is not just overreach but an expansion of federal nullification. It nullifies the will of voters, the authority of elected officials, and the steady progress of communities that have worked to keep themselves safe on their own terms. By treating local voices as disposable, federal authorities are attempting to erase democratic control where it matters most: in the safety and dignity of people in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. Additionally, this action places local law enforcement directly in harm’s way. Federalizing policing without coordination creates confusion, escalates conflict, and undermines the relationships local officers depend on to do their jobs safely. The same administration that claims to champion “protecting the blue” abandons that notion the moment it becomes politically inconvenient. By sidelining local departments and leadership, they endanger both officers

The federal government’s decision to assume control of the Metropolitan Police Department is a troubling overreach that ignores the facts and undermines our democracy. Crime in Washington, D.C. is not spiraling up. It is trending down. Instead of investing in the infrastructures that drive public safety—housing, education, and economic opportunity—the White House has chosen to escalate the drivers of surveillance, conflict, and detention. That choice sends a clear signal: communities in need will be met with punishment, not help. Though Washington D.C. is unlike other cities, this move still crosses a dangerous line. If this White House can bypass Congress and unilaterally send federal officers into a U.S. city—in spite of receding crime—no community is safe from becoming a target of political convenience. Authoritarian regimes do not emerge fully formed—they are built incrementally, under the guise of “law and order,” until dissent is met with force rather than debate. Let’s

Yesterday, Brett Hankison, one of the former Louisville police officers involved in the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. That sentence came despite the Department of Justice recommending just one day, an almost unimaginable proposal given the loss of life. While the court ultimately imposed a longer sentence, it is still not justice. It is only a form of accountability that comes too late for Breonna and those who loved her. True justice would be Breonna alive today.  Her killing was not an isolated incident. It is part of a long, painful pattern of state-sanctioned violence that continues to devalue the lives of Black people.  Since we cannot bring Breonna back, justice must now require transforming the very systems that allowed this tragedy to happen in the first place. At the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), we do not view accountability as

Today, the Center for Policing Equity honors the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, a turning point in the fight for justice in the United States. This act was more than a legal milestone. It was a declaration of what the nation could be: a nation where the dignity of every person is protected. This anniversary arrives at a time when that promise is under renewed threat. In recent months, we have seen basic legal protections stripped away. The Trump administration has moved to dismantle disparate impact liability, a legal doctrine that allowed people to challenge policies that cause harm, even if the intent to discriminate was hidden. This change makes it harder to fight racial discrimination the ways it actually happens in the world. At the same time, we have seen civil rights agreements canceled, protections for LGBTQ+ and disabled people rolled back, and efforts to weaken programs that

Juneteenth is not a celebration of the moment this country decided slavery was immoral. It is a celebration of when the people who were caged by slavery found out that they were free. The gap between something legally being true and the experience of something being true is vast. Freedom as a lived experience is powerful and intrinsic to the human experience. We call to mind the historical significance of the true meaning of Juneteenth this year while we observe the echoes of history at play in cities across the nation. This month, we are witness to violent intrusions into our freedoms by the federal government—and simultaneously, attempts to gaslight us about what we are witnessing with our own eyes.  The patterns repeat and our endurance maintains. We celebrate how far we have come from that fateful day in Galveston, Texas in 1865 when the truth was revealed. And we

The recent deployment of National Guard troops and marines to Los Angeles under federal authority, without the request or consent of the State of California, has exposed a dangerous vulnerability in our public safety systems. As local law enforcement agencies respond to high-stakes situations, such as demonstrations, they are being placed in an untenable position: operating alongside federally controlled troops without a clear public safety rationale for being there. This moment demands urgent clarity. Across the country, local police departments and sheriff’s offices use bespoke agreements with the federal government for how they will cooperate. There is no one roadmap for where to draw the line between civil law enforcement and federal military action. As a result, when the National Guard or U.S. armed forces show up over the objections of local officials, local law enforcement is put in a position of choosing political sides. To understand the stakes of