Redesigning PubIic Safety

Created as a tool to quickly identify and document people suspected of having a connection to gang violence, gang databases have become a pipeline for federal immigration enforcement. On paper, tools like these look efficient and innocuous, but are actually created based on unclear criteria and inconsistent practices. The end result is often inaccurate and inefficient data that leans on the weakest points of the immigration enforcement system. In our new white paper, Gang Databases and Immigration Enforcement, the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) explores the disproportionate impact these databases have on marginalized communities and why the use of gang databases is an urgent problem. This blog post discusses this impact on communities and why the current political climate demands swift action to address these harms.