This last week an officer in Dallas Texas was coming home after a shift at the police department. Mistakenly she entered an apartment that was no her own. Turning around she came face to face with a stranger. No one knows what kind of interaction they had, just that she shot him. Despite efforts to save him at a nearby hospital, he passed away.
In the past few years people have taken an initiative across the nation to stand for things they believe in, whether it’s Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter or some other movement. People are trying to make a point and bring attention to what they believe are the injustices.
The biggest example recently has been the attention Black Lives Matter is hoping to bring to police brutality problems, the number of people killed by police each year and the race of those people. Extrapolated data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that approximately 1,300 to 1,900 deaths occur each year during police encounters. That can sound like a huge amount and in comparison with other countries it is. Over 60 million people have contact with the police each year. That means less than 1% of all police interactions result in a loss of life.
These numbers can be found on public record sites and through the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Information can be found on what kind of force-based training is being used, how many officers complete it and so many other facets of police departments.
Looking at systematic bias in the justice system that’s not related to deaths can be more difficult. There are problems everywhere and bringing attention to them is essential for spurring change.
People are only ever practicing a profession. A few can make mistakes that cast a pall over an entire group of people. Examples like the one above can make for some real sensational news. We’re always left wondering what actually happened, what was done and by who and if it’s something that happens often. Most of the time we get bits and pieces of the story. Thankfully we live in a day and age where vast amounts of research can be accessed with just a few clicks. A responsibility falls to each individual to find and gather information. All people have to do is make an effort to go out and get it for themselves.
