In the last decade, high-profile police killings â including George Floyd in 2020 â have shaken the nation and led to widespread protests and calls for reform, including hiring more nonwhite and female officers.
But there was little research to back that up. Now, a new study published last week in the journal Science, suggests that diversity in law enforcement can indeed lead to improvements in how police treat people of color.
âItâs a system that very clearly needs reforming,â said study co-author Dean Knox, an assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. âWe just havenât had good data on what reforms work.â