vlog

vlog Authors

See citation below for complete author information.

Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice, vlog; Professor of Sociology, FAS; Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Radcliffe

Abstract

George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officers was followed not only by global protests for racial justice but also by the promise of reforms meant to curtail anti-Black law enforcement patterns or practices that made the death of George Floyd, and countless others, possible. The “racial reckoning” of 2020 swept through Boston as well. Thousands converged on the city both to protest police brutality specifically and to call for dismantling systems of racial oppression that allow for longstanding police racial biases and abuses. In response, then-Mayor Martin Walsh convened a task force to consider current Boston Police Department policies and procedures with an eye toward identifying areas of concern ripe for reform—many of which had been suggested but never fully addressed in prior eras. The Boston Police Reform Task Force, as it was called, recommended what at the time was described as “sweeping” reforms. These included expanding the use of body-worn cameras, diversifying the police force and creating a culture of inclusion and belonging, engaging officers in implicit-bias training, creating an independent oversight review board, and enhancing police use-of-force policies. Roughly three years have passed since key elements of this set of reforms were implemented. All things considered, are there any signs to suggest that Black residents of Boston are treated the same as people from other racial and ethnic groups? And where evidence of biased “patterns or practices” persist, what are the consequences for Bostonians’ health and well-being? To address these questions, we surveyed a representative sample of 1,407 Boston residents – 286 Black, 245 Latino, 143 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), 667 White, and 66 “other”[1] residents – about the extent and nature of their contact with law enforcement, their trust in law enforcement, and the impact that encounters with law enforcement have had on their lives and their communities. The survey was conducted between January 31 and February 14, 2024 by the MassINC Polling Group, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm serving clients in public, private, and social sectors.

Citation

Smith, Sandra Susan. "Bias, Distrust, and Trauma: Racial Disparities in Boston Residents’ Experiences with Law Enforcement and Related Outcomes." Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, June 10, 2024.