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Policing
The Policing topic examines the recruitment and role of police officers within the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in the justice system.
Topic Score
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Overview
The eight indicators in this topic quantify racial disparities in policing, and suggest ways we can make progress toward equitable outcomes. The indicator reports that follow will allow the City of St. Louis and all stakeholders to evaluate policies from a fact-based, verifiable perspective. We’ll be able to learn from the data, see what’s working and what’s falling short, and use these insights to double down on good investments and experiment with new policies.
The Policing topic examines the demographics of the police department, the police recruiting pipeline, and how residents experience policing.
Today, the demographics of the police force do not fully reflect the community it serves. Racial disparities persist throughout the talent pipeline for police officers, from the number of applicants to trainee graduation rates. Black people are less likely to apply to be a police officer and less likely to complete officer training.
However, minority officers are earning leadership positions at nearly equal rates as white officers. Equitable promotion practices will help the City of St. Louis retain the experienced officers it needs.
The data also show that currently, residents of different races experience law enforcement differently. Black people in St. Louis are more likely to be stopped while driving, be arrested for municipal violations, and live in areas where police report more incidents of use of force.
Lastly, the police force has not yet reached its goal of having 100% of patrol officers complete intensive crisis intervention training. A frequently trained and better prepared police force will help minimize unnecessary use of force.
A racially equitable police department will reflect the community it serves, enforce laws without bias or disparity, be trained to effectively and appropriately intervene in crises, and operate with the trust of the residents in St. Louis, regardless of their race.
For the Equity Indicators Project, the measures chosen focus on racial disparities. The indicators are reflective of the Ferguson Commission calls to action around law enforcement, but not all law-enforcement-related calls to action are addressed within the scope of this project.
FAQs
What is our equity score for this topic?
53.75
The higher the score on a scale from 1 to 100, the closer we are towards achieving equity.
Which Calls to Action from the Ferguson Commission report are reflected in this topic?
Specific calls to action from the Ferguson Commission's report addressed in this topic include:
- Restoring Relations Through Community Policing by facilitating more positive police-community interactions
- Consolidate Law Enforcement Agencies across the St. Louis region, in particular to reduce contiguous jurisdictions ticketing individuals multiple times for single minor traffic violations.
- Include Implicit Bias and Cultural Responsiveness Training in POST and conduct a periodic officer certification process for officers every 2 years to ensure anti-bias and culturally responsive policing practices are being utilized by individual law enforcement officers.
- Develop New Process to Review and Cancel Outstanding Warrants via more effective and possibly electronic system that identifies outstanding warrants and right-sizes debts based on a defendant’s ability to pay.
- Schedule Regular Warrant Reviews to effectively address cases where such warrants have become especially numerous.
- Authorizing Appropriate Use of Force by revising Use of Force policies and training and prioritizing de-escalation and tactical withdrawal.
- Establish Use of Force Database that is publicly available, that would not identify specific officers involved, and that ensures all police departments across the state are compelled to provide requested information.
- Improving Officer Training by increasing police training hours and requiring more oversight and investigation of training.
- Prioritize De-Escalation and Tactical Withdrawal through revision of use of force policies and training.
What institutions and organizations were assessed?
The indicators in this topic assess the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, which serves the City of St. Louis. The indicators do not assess the Missouri Highway Patrol or police forces in Saint Louis County.
Where did the data come from?
The data used in this topic comes from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Personnel Department at the City of St. Louis, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, and the American Community Survey.
What stakeholders were consulted?
Stakeholders consulted include the leadership of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the City of St. Louis Director of Public Safety, the Ethical Society of Police, and Forward Through Ferguson.
What metrics are missing and why?
Several important metrics related to meaningful police reform, such as community trust in police and community-oriented policing, could not be included in this report. As the SLMPD transitions to a more community-oriented police department under the leadership of Chief John Hayden, data on these metrics are slated to become available for future reports. The City of St. Louis is also working with the Vera Institute and the National Police Foundation to identify and implement ways to build resident definitions of good police performance into existing reporting packages and processes.
Policing Equity Indicators
| Number | Indicator | Equity Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1: Police Department Representation White residents are more than twice as likely as black residents to be represented in the Police Department. |
40 |
| 2 | P2: Police Applicants White residents are 16% more likely to submit job applications to the Police Department than black residents. |
78 |
| 3 | P3: Academy Retention Black trainees are more than three times as likely to resign or be dismissed from the Police Academy as white trainees. |
30 |
| 4 | P4: Police Promotions Black officers are nearly as likely to be promoted as white officers. |
91 |
| 5 | P5: Traffic Stops Black drivers are nearly twice as likely to be stopped by police officers as white drivers. |
44 |
| 6 | P6: Municipal Arrests A black person is more than twice as likely to be arrested for municipal violations as a white person. |
39 |
| 7 | P7: Use of Force Officers report use-of-force incidents nearly three times as often in majority-black neighborhoods as in majority-white neighborhoods. |
34 |
| 8 | P8: Crisis Intervention Training 74% of patrol officers have chosen to complete Crisis Intervention Team training. |
74 |
| 2018 Equity Score | 53.75 |
