The Impact of Affirmative Action Litigation on Police Killings of Civilians
Open accessAbstract
Although research has shown that court-ordered hiring quotas increase the number of minority police officers in litigated cities, there has been little insight into how workforce diversity, or lack thereof, may impact police violence against civilians.Using an event study framework, we find that the threat of affirmative action litigation reduces police killings of non-White civilians in the long-run.In addition, we find evidence of lower arrest rates for non-White civilians and more diverse police departments 25 years after litigation.Our results highlight the vital role that federal interventions have in addressing police behavior and the use of lethal force.
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The demographic composition of the reference group confirms that Black individuals and men remain most affected, which reinforces how alternative crisis response models can reduce law enforcement contact among historically heavily policed populations.
“The demographic composition of the reference group, individuals processed by police, confirms that Black individuals and men remain most affected, which reinforces how alternative crisis response models can reduce law enforcement contact among historically heavily policed populations (Ba et al., 2021;Cox et al., 2024).”
From What is the Best Response? Examining the Impact of Police and Their Alternatives (2025) · cites this paper as Cox et al., 2024
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Background
- Authors
- Cox, R., Cunningham, J., & Ortega, A.
- Affiliations
- Wesleyan University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cox, Robynn
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2024-05
- OpenAlex
- W4399035611
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
- Keywords
- police use of deadly force, minority police officers, hiring quotas, arrest rates, federal intervention, police accountability, racial disparities in policing
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