Blog
Welcome to the CPE blog, where we share insights to educate, inform, and inspire those who are answering the call to fight bias and take bold action towards establishing equitable public safety systems.
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The Presidency Minus Personal Responsibility
A study released last month from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality found that black girls as young as age 5 are viewed as more knowledgeable about sex than their White peers, less innocent, and less in need of protection. Black boys have until the age of 10…
There's a Predictable Pattern to a Fatal Police Shooting. But Not in the Case of Justine Ruszczyk
(CNN) Why the reaction is different this time - David Love, a Philadelphia journalist who's written about race issues for CNN and others, has a theory why. "We haven't reckoned with our history so it shouldn't surprise us to see a different reaction" - Phillip Atiba Goff Read more…
Charleena Lyles needed Health Care. Instead, She was Killed
On Sunday morning, two Seattle police officers shot and killed Charleena Lyles in her apartment. She was pregnant, and three of her four children were home. She called the police to report a burglary. Read more.
Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation Offers Generous Support to the Center for Policing Equity’s LEAP Program
New York, June 19, 2017— John Jay College is pleased to announce a generous gift from the Arthur and Patricia Hill Foundation to support the Leadership in Empowering Advocates Program (LEAP), through the Center for Policing Equity, led by Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff. Read more here.
Google Gives $1 Million for Justice and Shines Light on Dark History of Lynching
The search engine titan has a history of donating to causes that promote social justice. In February, Google provided provide $11.5 million in new funding to ten racial justice organizations including the Center for Policing Equity, Impact Justice, and Center for Employment Opportunities—one of several groups funded that work on supplying…
Congressional Republicans: Shield Police From Legal Repercussions
Chris Burbank, a former police chief and director of law enforcement engagement at the Center for Policing Equity, told Rewire he fears the [Back the Blue Act] would do the exact opposite of what proponents claim: protect police, deter crime, and build police-community relations. Read more here.
Identity Traps: How to Think about Race & Policing
Since the summer of 2014, Americans have seen more videos of violent interactions between police and non-Whites than ever before. While the interpretation of some specific incidents remains contentious and data on police use of force are scant, there is evidence that racial disparities in policing exist even when considering…
Speakers Bring Message of Racial Inclusion to Summit in Muskegon
[CPE Cofounder and President Dr. Phillip Atiba] Goff said he works with institutions of power to help translate the institutions' values into behaviors to create mechanisms of metrics of accountability for the institutions to police the communities that are most vulnerable. "By doing this, we are able to engage the…
Latinos In Three Cities Are Reporting Fewer Crimes Since Trump Took Office
There is historical precedent for immigration policies’ affecting reporting among undocumented immigrants. Salt Lake City encountered similar issues when the state legislature debated a bill that would require local law enforcement to detain unauthorized immigrants, recalled Chris Burbank, the [director or law enforcement engagement at the Center for Policing Equity and] police chief…
The Five Scariest Things About Jeff Sessions's New War on Drugs
Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Drug Charges Memo: "...Here’s why this matters in terms of Sessions’ order today: In an environment where you are likely to suffer brutal consequences for charging someone too lightly—and there’s really no way to suffer negative political consequences for charging someone…
No Justice Under Trump? [Video]
CPE Cofounder and President Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff joins MSNBC's AM Joy Host Joy Reid. View the interview here.
The Killing of Jordan Edwards Shows Again How Black Males — Even Children — Are Viewed as a Threat
The car drove away from the high school house party, down a street in a Dallas suburb dotted with single-level brick homes, when the police officer raised his rifle and fired. A bullet tore through the front passenger window, killing an unarmed 15-year-old: Jordan Edwards. Read more here.
Justice Needs Nerds
Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff recently wrote a guest piece on mathbabe.org on why justice needs nerds, you can read it here.
Four Immediate Action Steps ID'd After Traffic Stop Study in Grand Rapids
Feeling community pressure to take action in the wake of a glaring traffic stop study, the Grand Rapids City Commission has identified three immediate actions to improve community-police relations. Read more here.
Black People in Florida Much More Likely To Be Shot by Police, Investigation Confirms
You know about Trayvon Martin and how he died. But you probably haven’t heard of James Estes, 46, Benjamin Dykeman, 31, or Tyler Spann, 20, who were also fatally shot by police. Their stories are now tallied in a database compiled in a Tampa Bay Times investigation showing Florida’s police…
In Letter, CBC Chairman Criticizes Attorney General for Review of Consent Decrees
WASHINGTON – Today, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA-02), sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticizing him for his decision to review consent decrees between the Department of Justice and police departments found to have a “pattern and practice” of violating civil…
Traffic and Pedestrian Fatalities Are on the Rise; DOJ to Review Local Police Oversight; A Case for a New Better Tax System
Sheryl Gay Stolberg, domestic affairs correspondent for The New York Times, Jonathan M. Smith, executive director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and former Obama Justice Department attorney, and Chris Burbank, director of Law Enforcement Engagement Center for Policing Equity, talk about the memo from…
Jeff Sessions Orders Review of Police Reforms Prompted by High-profile Shootings
The US attorney general on Monday ordered a nationwide review of all reform agreements with local police departments, placing a key part of Barack Obama’s legacy on criminal justice in jeopardy. Read more here.
NFL Players Testify About Improving Community and Police Relations
Anquan Boldin, a NFL free agent who's played with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens, is young, rich and famous. Yet, as a black man in America, he's keenly aware of the tensions that can exist between communities of color and law enforcement. Read more here.
When Policing And Race Cross Paths In Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley, a region that attracts a diverse population from across the country and world due to its thriving tech sector, faces an existential question with real-world consequences: how might its mix of cultures change local policing? Some recent history has created fertile ground for such a question. Read more…
Can Data Help End Racism In the Justice System? Google Is Donating Millions to Find Out
Google is doing its part to help combat racism in the criminal justice system by donating $11.5 million to 10 organizations. The tech company’s charitable arm, Google.org, announced Thursday, Feb. 23 that it would double the $5-million gift to racial justice organizations it has granted since 2015. By investing in…
Experts: Trump’s Immigration Orders Could Drive Crime Up
Trump ordered his administration to broker deals with local authorities that empower and deputize local police in immigration matters in January; if widely enacted, former police they say this will make communities across the nation less safe, as individuals and whole neighborhoods stop reporting crime and cooperating with police for…
Challenging Conventional Wisdom on Mass Incarceration
On February 7, Fordham Law School Professor John Pfaff led a three-person panel in discussion of justice system reform within the United States—the topic of his book Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration – and How to Achieve Real Reform, which was released the same day. Read more…
Does Having More Black Officers Reduce Police Violence?
That question gained steam after events in Ferguson in part because of lack of data. "We have bad numbers on policing, but you can get somewhat decent numbers on [local] demographics," Phillip Atiba Goff, director of the Center for Policing Equity at John Jay College in New York, said. Read…