Re:Leaked Documents Reveal Police Department Planted Drugs f...
by snowwrestler on Wednesday December 02, 2015 @12:06AM
(#10661103)
This Times article makes a mistake by acknowledging that the data are not trustworthy, but then relying on the data to make its point.
For example it concludes:
> βYes, more whites than blacks die as a result of an encounter with police, but whites also represent a much bigger chunk of the total population,β PolitiFact said in its Aug. 21 post.
> But PolitiFact did not take into account the percentage of those by race involved in violent crime or shootings of police, as Mr. Moskos did.
The data of who is involved in violent crime or shootings of police are themselves in question, because they are self-reported by the very officers and departments who are under consideration. Saying that police can't be biased, because their self-reported data does not show bias, is begging the question.
Until very recently, with only a few exceptions, the only data on police activity was provided by police themselves. The ubiquity of camera phones is now providing a growing body of independently gathered--and contradictory--evidence. I think this represents a fundamental shift that is taking place in policing today.
For example it concludes:
> βYes, more whites than blacks die as a result of an encounter with police, but whites also represent a much bigger chunk of the total population,β PolitiFact said in its Aug. 21 post.
> But PolitiFact did not take into account the percentage of those by race involved in violent crime or shootings of police, as Mr. Moskos did.
The data of who is involved in violent crime or shootings of police are themselves in question, because they are self-reported by the very officers and departments who are under consideration. Saying that police can't be biased, because their self-reported data does not show bias, is begging the question.
Until very recently, with only a few exceptions, the only data on police activity was provided by police themselves. The ubiquity of camera phones is now providing a growing body of independently gathered--and contradictory--evidence. I think this represents a fundamental shift that is taking place in policing today.