Inequities found in
3
of 3 measures studied

Policing: What We Found

We measured inequities in policing across the Birmingham region by looking at differences in arrest rates and the diversity of police officers compared to the public they serve.

How we measured equity
UNEQUAL ARRESTS
Inequity
The chart shows the rate of arrests per 1,000 residents for different racial and ethnic groups in Birmingham. For decades, researchers have found white residents face less chance of being arrested in most cities than Black, Latino or Hispanic residents, who also are stopped and searched more frequently. We found Black residents were more likely to be arrested in all 100 metro areas and at least twice as likely to be arrested in 95 metro areas.
  • 0
  • 5
  • 10
  • 15
  • 20
  • 25
  • 30
  • 35
  • 40
  • 45
  • 50
  • White
  • Black
  • Latino or Hispanic
  • Asian
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, (2019); FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports system (2019); and arrest data from local police agencies (2019)
UNEQUAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT
Inequity
The chart shows the rate of drug-related arrests per 1,000 residents for different racial and ethnic groups in Birmingham. Despite research showing white people use drugs equally, they’re arrested for drug crimes at lower rates in almost every city in the U.S. We found Black residents were at least twice as likely to be arrested on drug charges in 88 of 100 major metro areas.
  • 0
  • 0.3
  • 0.6
  • 0.9
  • 1.2
  • 1.5
  • 1.8
  • 2.1
  • 2.4
  • 2.7
  • 3
  • White
  • Black
  • Latino or Hispanic
  • Asian
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, (2019); FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports system (2019); and arrest data from local police agencies (2019)
DIVERSITY OF POLICE FORCES
Inequity
This chart compares the racial and ethnic makeup of police officers working for all law enforcement agencies across the Birmingham metro area, compared to the population of the region. We considered a gap of more than five percentage points for any racial or ethnic minority group as inequity.
  • 0%
  • 7%
  • 14%
  • 21%
  • 28%
  • 35%
  • 42%
  • 49%
  • 56%
  • 63%
  • 70%
  • icon-population
    icon-police
  • icon-population
    icon-police
  • icon-population
    icon-police
  • icon-population
    icon-police
  • icon-population
    icon-police
  • White
  • Black
  • Latino or Hispanic
  • Asian
  • All people of color
  • icon-police Population Diversity
    icon-police Police Diversity
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and U.S. Census Bureau’s Equal Employment Opportunity tabulation (2018-2019)

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