Ad

Policing in America

UnaccountableAn examination of policing in America amid the push for reform

Police shootings continue daily, despite a pandemic, protests and pushes for reform

Despite reforms, on-duty police officers have fatally shot more than 6,000 people since The Washington Post began tracking such shootings in 2015. The circumstances range from what experts deem unavoidable to what prosecutors consider criminal and observers and experts contend many could have been averted with less-aggressive tactics.
By Mark Berman, Julie Tate and Jennifer Jenkins

When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back

Civilian oversight is undermined by politicians and police, who say citizens are ill-equipped to judge officers.
By Nicole Dungca and Jenn Abelson

Public records laws shield police from scrutiny — and accountability

In every state, law enforcement agencies have discretion to withhold a wide range of records.
By Nate Jones

The endless cycle of outrage and reform over policing in America

Police revert to entrenched practices when monitors move on, leadership changes and public scrutiny wanes.
By Robert Klemko and John Sullivan
chartINTERACTIVE

​​Database of fatal shootings by police officers in the line of duty since 2015

By Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins and Steven Rich
Police and communities The unequal impact of policing

Murder with impunity

The Post acquired detailed information about up to a decade of homicides. An analysis of murders in 55 of America’s largest cities revealed block by block where police fail to catch killers.

An unequal justice: No arrests were made in the homicides of more than 18,600 black men and women.

By Wesley Lowery, Kimbriell Kelly and Steven Rich

Violent confrontations between police and mentally ill people remain a vexing issue, especially in small and midsize areas

By Kimberly Kindy, Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins and Ted Mellnik

Stop and Seize: Thousands of people have had cash confiscated by police without being charged with crimes

By Michael Sallah, Robert O'Harrow Jr., Steven Rich and Gabe Silverman
Ad
Ad
ReformThe push to remake policing

Maryland enacts landmark police overhaul, first state to repeal police bill of rights

By Ovetta Wiggins and Erin Cox

A majority-Black county has spent $17.6 million fighting officers who allege racism

For years, Prince George’s County has vigorously defended its police department against a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by officers of color. Calls to settle are growing.
By Katie Mettler and Rachel Chason

Police chiefs and mayors push for reform. Then they run into veteran officers, unions and ‘how culture is created.’

By Kimberly Kindy and Mark Berman

Forced reforms, mixed results

Federal interventions at troubled police departments across the country drag on for years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
By Kimbriell Kelly, Sarah Childress and Steven Rich
Fatal ForceMore than 6,000 killed by police since 2015

Thousands dead, few prosecuted

Among the thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, only 54 officers have been charged, a Post analysis found. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved.
 By Kimberly Kindy and Kimbriell Kelly

A year of reckoning: Police fatally shoot nearly 1,000

Here's what we found in our 2015 investigation.
By Kimberly Kindy, Marc Fisher, Julie Tate and Jennifer Jenkins

In fatal shootings by police, 1 in 5 officers’ names go undisclosed

By John Sullivan, Derek Hawkins, Kate McCormick, Ashley Balcerzak and Wesley Lowery

A year after Ferguson, unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire

By Sandhya Somashekhar, Wesley Lowery, Keith L. Alexander, Kimberly Kindy and Julie Tate

Police shootings of children spark new outcry, calls for training to deal with adolescents in crisis

By Kimberly Kindy, Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins and Ted Mellnik

Protests spread over police shootings. Police promised reforms. Every year, they still shoot and kill nearly 1,000 people.

By Mark Berman, John Sullivan, Julie Tate and Jennifer Jenkins

Nearly 250 women have been fatally shot by police since 2015

By Marisa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal
Checks + balancesThe pursuit of accountability

Some U.S. police departments dump body-camera programs amid high costs

Prosecutors charged more police after Ferguson but struggled to win convictions. Will that change after George Floyd?

Police chiefs ordered to rehire hundreds of officers fired for misconduct

When police kill people, they are rarely prosecuted and hard to convict

Ad
Ad
Other Uses of ForceThe costs and controversy of law enforcement tactics

Deadly force behind the wheel

A police driving maneuver used to end chases has killed 30 people since 2016. Many departments refuse to use the tactic because of the risks.
By Shaun Raviv and John Sullivan

These brutal police dog attacks were captured on video. Now some cities are curtailing K-9 use.

Video of attacking police dogs and the resulting physical injuries are beginning to alter the image of the lifesaving K-9, sometimes known as the “Lassie effect.”
By Kimberly Kindy and Julie Tate

At least 32 of the nation’s 65 largest police departments have banned or strengthened restrictions on the use of neck restraints since the death of George Floyd

62% now explicitly prohibit both carotid holds and chokeholds in their use-of-force policies, according to a Post survey.
By Kimberly Kindy, Kevin Schaul and Ted Mellnik

Experts say Rochester police failed to use tactics designed to bring people in a mental health crisis safely into custody

By Kimberly Kindy and Tim Craig

Deaths have raised questions about the risk of excessive or improper deployment of Tasers

By Cheryl W. Thompson and Mark Berman
OPINIONS: REIMAGINE SAFETYA project of the Editorial Board, in conversation with outside voices

Police reform is not enough. We need to rethink public safety.

Opinion by the Editorial Board

Derek Chauvin is going to prison. Let this be a turning point.

Opinion by Keith Ellison

George Floyd might still be alive if an officer like Cariol Horne had been there

Opinion by W. Neil Eggleston

All federal law enforcement should wear body cameras

Opinion by Elliot Williams
Ad
Ad