College Requirements For Police Forces Can Save Black Lives – At What Cost?
Police forces requiring at least a two-year college degree for employment are less likely to employ officers who engage in actions that cause the deaths of Black and unarmed citizens, according to our new peer-reviewed study of data on 235 U.S. city police departments from 2000 to 2016.
Findings from our analysis conducted alongside colleagues professor William Sabol and David Snively, interim police chief in Morrow, Georgia, also revealed that Black citizens were no more likely than white citizens to die during police encounters in places where police are required to have more college education.
With a few exceptions, most prior research shows officer education level and department college requirements do not significantly affect deadly police outcomes. That research is mostly limited b...