Smartphone Data Reveal Neighborhood-Level Racial Disparities in Police Presence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chen, M. Keith; Christensen, Katherine L.; John, Elicia; Owens, Emily; Zhuo, Yilin
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington; American University; University of California System; University of California Irvine
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01370
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: UNITED-STATES; DISCRIMINATION; INEQUALITY; HEALTH; size

摘要

Research on policing has focused on documented actions such as stops and arrests-less is known about patrols and presence. We map the neighborhood movement of nearly 10,000 officers across 21 of America's largest cities using anonymized smartphone data. Police spend 0.36% more time in neighborhoods for each percentage point increase in Black residents. This neighborhood-level disparity persists after controlling for density, socioeconomic status, and crime-driven demand for policing, and may be lower in cities with more Black police supervisors (but not officers). Patterns of police presence statistically explain 57% of the higher arrest rate in more Black neighborhoods.