Photo by Victor J. Blue | The New York Times | Redux
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Ending Police Violence and Ensuring Accountability

Systemic policing reform is long overdue

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, and so many others should be alive today. Instead, their tragic deaths are painful reminders that the systems we’re meant to rely on for safety and justice weren’t designed to protect us all. The dehumanization and criminalization of Black people and the use of unnecessary and excessive police force are legacies of slavery and white supremacy, which continue to traumatize communities of color and fuel the uniquely American crisis of mass incarceration. Systemic policing reform is long overdue.

To explore the cost of policing at the local level, Vera compiled data from the fiscal year 2020 adopted budgets of 72 of the biggest cities across the United States.
Explore Data
This brief captures some of the most notable budget and policy changes since protests began in late May.
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Explore our Arrest Trends data tool to learn about the problem of overpolicing and over-enforcement, especially in Black communities.
Explore Data
  • The police arrest someone every

    3 seconds

    in America.


    Learn more about systemic criminal justice reform @verainstitute: www.vera.org

  • Police kill Black people

    at

    2X

    the rate of white people.


    Learn more about systemic criminal justice reform @verainstitute: www.vera.org

  • The police have

    shot and killed

    1,254

    Black people

    since 2015.


    Learn more about systemic criminal justice reform @verainstitute: www.vera.org

  • Black people make up about

    13%

    of the population but over

    27%

    of all arrests.


    Learn more about systemic criminal justice reform @verainstitute: www.vera.org

Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, Jamila Hodge, director of Vera's Reshaping Prosecution Program, speaks with CBS News about the need for systemic reform of America's justice system.
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