Black Suspects Overrepresented in Police Facebook Bulletins: Report
Researchers found the problem is more pronounced in places with higher shares of Republican voters or non-Black residents, though the study was not designed to explore the causes.
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A new study from Duke University Law School finds that law enforcement agencies posting on Facebook about crimes overreport those allegedly committed by Black suspects at a rate 25 percentage points higher than arrest records would suggest, reports John McCreary for MSN. Researchers found the problem is more pronounced in places with higher shares of Republican voters or non-Black residents, though the study was not designed to explore the causes.
Law enforcement agencies increasingly use social media channels like Facebook to inform the public of crimes directly – with no external gatekeeper – as opposed to traditional print and broadcast media, which can filter those crime reports.
