Police Violence is a Public Health Issue

Data Brief
February 2021

View the brief: Police Violence is a Public Health Issue [PDF]

Figure 1: Thirty-nine people were killed by police in Philadelphia from 2013-2020. Twenty-six were Black, 1 was Latino, 3 were white, and race was not recorded for 9 people.

Violence perpetrated by law enforcement is a critical public health issue.

Prior studies show Black people experience a higher risk of police-inflicted violence, which leads directly to injury, psychological harms, and death. Beyond effects on the victims themselves, police violence affects the mental and physical health of Black families and communities.

The data in this brief shows that the vast majority of individuals killed by police since 2013 in Philadelphia have been Black (Figure 1), and the vast majority of these incidents have occurred in predominantly Black or Latino neighborhoods. These are the same neighborhoods that experience other health inequities, demonstrating a disproportionate burden of other health threats as well.

Review the full brief

References

• Addressing Law Enforcement Violence as a Public Health Issue. American Public Health Association. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/29/law-enforcement-violence
• Bor, J., Venkataramani, A. S., Williams, D. R., & Tsai, A. C. (2018). Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: a population-based, quasi-experimental study. The Lancet, 392(10144), 302-310.
• Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Drexel University Urban Health Collaborative. (2019). Close to Home: The Health of Philadelphia's Neighborhoods. Retrieved from https://www.phila.gov/media/20190801133844/Neighborhood-Rankings_7_31_19.pdf
• Sinyangwe, S., Mckesson, D., & Packnett, B. (2016). Mapping police violence. Ferguson Protestor Newsletter https://mappingpoliceviolence.org https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
• Shooting Victims. City of Philadelphia Police Department. Retrieved from https://www.opendataphilly.org/dataset/shooting-victims
• Davis, E., Whyde, A., & Langton, L. (2018). Contacts between police and the public, 2015. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report, 1-33. Retrieved from https://aclupa.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/106_plaintiffs_tenth_report_on_14th_amendment_issues.pdf

Citation:

Rivera Joseph S, Galpern D, Brown Weida E, Rich J, Corbin T, Carroll-Scott A. Police Violence is a Public Health Issue. Drexel University Urban Health Collaborative; February 2021.