Dr. Tracie Keesee, CPE President, COO, and Co-Founder was interviewed by St. Louis Patch-Dispatch for an article about a new investigation conducted by news media company Lee Enterprises and Type Investigations, a nonprofit newsroom. A thorough analysis of data from 170 law enforcement agencies revealed significant racial disparity in law enforcement demographics when compared to the communities which they serve.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
Tracie L. Keesee is COO, president and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, which uses data and science to help law enforcement look at “harm reduction when it comes to issues of race” and reimagine “public safety in a way that centers community.”
She feels there should be more robust, peer-reviewed studies that look closely at the differences in negative outcomes for people of color when interacting with diverse vs. non-diverse departments.
“The science is so scant,” she said.
For starters, Keesee said, law enforcement agencies need to better track both the diversity of their members and how they interact with citizens. “We want law enforcement departments to start collecting data appropriately, and we want to make it available to everyone so we can do exactly what you're talking about,” she added. “So we can look at and be able to try to begin to answer those questions."
Read the complete article on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website.