Racial bias and lethal force errors among Canadian police officers.

Abstract

Scientific examination of racial disparities in police shootings shows conflicting evidence of anti-Black, anti-White, or no racial bias. Experimental studies that attempt to control for extraneous factors often lack ecological validity and have inconsistent approaches for measuring racial bias. Given the mounting outcry for police reform, including recommendations for racial bias screening and training, clarifying the relationship between observable lethal force behaviors and implicit racial bias is an urgent matter. Building on limited extant literature, the present study examined racial disparities in shoot/no-shoot decision-making among Canadian police officers (n = 187) during their service's annual recertification assessment that manipulated suspect race (Black or White) in otherwise identical scenarios. Lethal force errors were compared to implicit racial bias scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and other demographic variables including officer sex, age, years of experience, and race. We found no statistically significant difference in error rates for simulations featuring a Black or White suspect for shoot (2.5%, 3.1%, respectively) or no-shoot scenarios (4.6%, 3.0%, respectively). Lethal force errors were not predicted by suspect race, extent of autonomic arousal, or IAT scores. However, the absolute frequencies of lethal force errors were greater in scenarios featuring Black suspects. The current findings suggest that widespread reform to police training is urgently needed to reduce racial disparities in use of force (UOF) and lethal force errors overall. Public Significance StatementAcademic research in psychology presents conflicting evidence for anti-White, anti-Black, and no racial bias. Further, lay popularity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) has informed public policy recommendations to use the IAT as a screening tool for unconscious racial bias among police in Canada. The present study reveals anti-Black biases in police shooting errors that align with North American population studies showing anti-Black bias, but which are not statistically significant compared to scenarios featuring White suspects. Our findings do not support using the IAT as a screening tool for predicting racially biased shooting behavior among police.

Performative shooting exercises do not predict real-world racial bias in police officers.

“…With regard to the shooting test, Andersen et al (2021) state,As with lethal force errors in the field, errors during recertification assessment bear significant consequences including potential loss of income and field status until the officer passes subsequent remedial training. Thus, we can infer that officers were motivated not to make mistakes during the evaluated scenarios for the sake of maintaining social desirability of responses toward Black suspects.…”

“…The repercussions from lethal force errors in real life are fundamentally different from the repercussions of lethal force errors during recertification assessments, and Andersen et al (2021) failed to mention this most significant difference: loss of life. Biased officers may more readily shoot a Black person in real life out of fears resulting from deeply rooted racist pathological stereotypes about Black people having supernatural strength, greater pain tolerance, criminal proclivities, and malicious intent (Druckman et al, 2018; Waytz et al, 2015; Williams et al, 2012).…”

“…Police research needs to prioritize understanding patterns of racial bias in policing in Canada by examining explanatory mechanisms for individual differences in police bias. First, Andersen et al (2021) fail to recognize and acknowledge the colonial and racist foundation of our policing system and the ways this history informs contemporary policing practices, policies, as well as systemic and individual bias (Maynard, 2017). Additionally, the authors offer no explanation for the discrepancy between the pervasive disparities in police violence against Black and Indigenous people and their purportedly externally valid findings.…”

Toward a Psychological Science of Abolition Democracy: Insights for Improving Theory and Research on Race and Public Safety

“…Indeed, implicit racial associations and stereotypes about Black people tend to be more negative than explicitly reported attitudes, and they are pervasive, some even among Black people (Nosek et al, 2007). Implicit anti-Black associations are also prevalent among police officers, with studies using implicit association tests revealing that 73% of officers automatically linked Black race to negative concepts (Andersen et al, 2021) and 96% exhibited racial bias on a weapon categorization task (James et al, 2016).…”

“It Stays with You for Life”: The Everyday Nature and Impact of Police Violence in Toronto’s Inner-City

“…Such framing minimizes the prevalence and consequences of police violence in Canada. Critically, this framing also neglects the disproportionate risk and impacts of police violence on certain groups; compared to all other groups, Black and Indigenous persons in Canada are more likely to be subjected to police violence—and specifically, police use of lethal force [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. To illustrate, between 2000 and 2017, Black persons represented 37% of the victims of police use of deadly force in Toronto while comprising just 8.3% of the population.…”