What if science could eliminate racial bias in policing? Today, this question was answered by the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) as the focus of its big idea funded through The Audacious Project. The $30 million of support that has been committed to CPE will be used to further enhance COMPSTAT for Justice, a data tool that tracks police behavior to help law enforcement agencies reduce racial disparities in policing.

Today, ahead of Super Bowl LIII, the Players Coalition Charitable Foundation awarded $350,000 to Center for Policing Equity (CPE).

Players Coalition Charitable Foundation, is a collective of both current and former National Football League (NFL) players focused on raising awareness around critical social justice and racial equity issues. Center for Policing Equity, is a research and action think tank, that takes an evidence-based approach to social justice. Specifically, CPE uses advanced analytics to diagnose disparities in policing, and shed light on police behavior.

“At Center for Policing Equity, we know that racism is more than a closely-held belief. It’s the accumulation of behaviors that result in unfair policing outcomes—usually for Black and Brown communities and especially the youth. By looking at racism as a behavior, we can measure it and find solutions to address it,” said Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Co-founder and CEO of Center for Policing Equity. The grant will allow CPE to further enhance COMPSTAT for Justice, a data tool that tracks police behavior to help law enforcement agencies to reduce racial disparities in policing. COMPSTAT for Justice also tracks police stops, uses of force data, and survey data. By combining these data with census data and other geospatial data, CPE can pinpoint and differentiate the portion of racial disparities police cannot control (e.g., poverty) and the portion they can (e.g., policies).

“We know from our research that Black and Brown boys are more likely to be stopped by police and are the targets of disproportionate uses of force,” added Dr. Goff. “Players Coalition has helped place this issue at the forefront of public consciousness. We are thankful to Players Coalition Charitable Foundation for their generous support.” “Our communities desire better relationships with law enforcement,” said Doug Baldwin, Players Coalition Task Force Member and wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. “We know CPE’s ability to help build these relationships through the use of data analyses and behavioral science. We look forward to working with them to continue to help communities and departments understand the sources of racial disparity and advocate for reforms that reduce it.”

###

This month, the Schott Foundation for Public Education awarded the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) $795,000 to support its Policing and Discipline Equity Project (PDEP). The initiative collects and analyzes data to address school discipline practices in Florida's Broward County Public Schools.

"Fairness in policing begins on day one. That's what makes our work with Broward County so important," said CPE's President and Co-Founder Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff. "If we can help establish trust between school resource officers and our children, we decrease the likelihood of issues with law enforcement later in life. We can also use these data to call out injustice and reform school discipline policies. CPE's goal is to promote equity throughout the lifespan. I thank the Schott Foundation for awarding us this grant, allowing us to further this urgent research."

CPE began working on the PDEP with Broward County in 2016 in partnership with the Advancement Project. The PDEP aims to reduce racial disparities in suspensions, expulsions, and other disciplinary practices for students and to identify contributing factors to persistent discipline disparities and school arrests.

"Many advocates have taken to the media to call out the 'school-to-prison pipeline' and its devastating effects on communities, but few have asked why the pipeline is there in the first place and why some school leaders take the actions they do," said Dr. R. Nicole Johnson-Ahorlu, director of CPE's Juvenile Justice and Education initiative. "CPE has stepped in to answer these questions and provide the much-needed research to help school officials nationwide make better decisions for all our children."

The PDEP involves surveys of students, teachers, and principals. Parents participate in focus groups, and researchers analyze multiple sets of data. CPE will use the findings of the study to:

1) inform the development of an implicit bias training for educators and school resource officers; 2) support the restructuring of hiring and training practices; 3) adjust the servicing of student and employee needs in schools; and 4) modify written policies to improve school discipline and school policing practices in Florida.

CPE's grant aligns with the Schott Foundation's mission to develop and strengthen a broad-based and representative movement to achieve fully resourced, quality PreK-12 public education. Schott supports multiple national campaigns that are fighting for systemic change in the disparities that poor children and children of color face in our nation's schools.

"You can't teach children who aren't in school. Excessive suspensions reduce students' instructional time and widens the opportunity gap," said Schott's President and CEO. "We are encouraged by the leadership of CPE and other community partners in bringing discipline data to life and elevating the voices of those most affected by these policies." Click here to learn more about the Center for Policing Equity and the Policing and Discipline Equity Project.

###

The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing some of the nation's biggest social challenges through data and accountability. CPE works with police departments, communities, and political stakeholders to look for ways to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The Schott Foundation for Public Education aims to develop and strengthen a broad-based and representative movement to achieve fully resourced, quality PreK-12 public education. Schott's core belief is that well-resourced grassroots campaigns can lead to systemic change in the disparities poor children and children of color face in our nation's schools. In helping to build these campaigns into a movement, Schott recognizes its pivotal role as both funder and advocate to ensure that all children have an opportunity to learn.

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.

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 the previously incarcerated with marketable job skills. Read more here.

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 such groups, the company aims to collect data on police behavior and criminal sentencing to better understand how racism impacts nonwhite people who encounter the criminal justice system. Read more here.

UCLA’s research center that works with police departments to reduce racial profiling and other issues will relocate to New York following an endowment of $2.5 million. UCLA psychology professor Phillip Atiba Goff, who helped start the center in 2007, will also move to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York to occupy a professorship and lead the center, according to a press release. Read more here.

(Washington, DC) -- Today, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, announced a research partnership with the Center for Policing Equity to advance diversity in law enforcement through a Civil Rights Division-Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interagency effort.  Read Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta's full announcement here.  

Justice Dept. uses grants to encourage good community-police relations

As concern over racial profiling grew, in September, outgoing attorney general Eric Holder announced the creation of the Justice Department's National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, a consortium of organizations that will use a $4.75 million federal grant to push for both research and results. "The events in Ferguson reminded us that we cannot allow tensions, which are present in so many neighborhoods across America, to go unresolved," Holder said. "As law enforcement leaders, each of us has an essential obligation -- and a unique opportunity -- to ensure fairness, eliminate bias, and build community engagement." That's something that Tracie Keesee recognized more than a decade ago. Read more