Making Black Lives Matter

• Date: 01 February 2017
• Author: Roger G. Dunham,Nick Petersen
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12284
• Published date: 01 February 2017

POLICY ESSAY

CIVILIANS KILLED BY POLICE

Making Black Lives Matter

Evidence-Based Policies for Reducing Police Bias in the Use

of Deadly Force

Roger G. Dunham

Nick Petersen

University of Miami

In this essay, we respond to Justin Nix, Bradley Campbell, Edward Byers, and Geoffrey

Alpert’s (2017, this issue) study and offer several evidence-based policy recommen-

dations for reducing police bias in the use of deadly force. We begin by referring to

some historical facts concerning American policing as it pertains to race and police use

of force, followed by a critical assessment of Nix et al.’s findings. Next, we offer several

policy recommendations and close by delineating the next steps to achieving these policy

objectives.

The Enduring Signicance of Race in American Policing

A decade ago, in this journal, Jerome Skolnick (2007) encouraged us to situate discussions

of modern policing within the broader socio-historical context of U.S. race relations. He

reminded us that policing in the Jim Crow South often operated as a form of racialized

social control, designed to keep “the Negro in his place” (p. 65). Moreover, Skolnick noted

that in 1966 nearly 3 out of 4 police officers expressed “extreme” or “considerable”prejudice

against African Americans. Not surprisingly,then, the “police were exceptionally biased” in

their treatment of racial and ethnic minorities during this period (Skolnick, 2007: 65). And

as a result, the 1960s and 1970s were characterized by severely strained police–community

relations and massive protests stemming from concerns about racialized policing practices.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the killing of Arthur McDuffie, the Rodney King beating, and

related incidents led to protests and calls for policing reforms. Skolnick’s assessment of this

Both authors contributed equally to this essay, and the names are listed alphabetically. Direct

correspondence to Roger G. Dunham or Nick Petersen, Department of Sociology, University of Miami, P.O. Box

248162, Coral Gables, FL 33124 (e-mail: rgdunham@miami.edu; npetersen@miami.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12284 C2017 American Society of Criminology 341

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 16 rIssue 1