What it means to be policed in America varies from one community to another, reflecting a somber reality of American life: Where people live is often predictive of their experiences, opportunities, and ultimately, their life outcomes. When considering differences in policing practices, these outcomes may be particularly negative if they involve an increased likelihood of unfavorable interactions with the police.

And policing does differ significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood. As a recent example, my coauthors and I used smartphone data to analyze police patrols across 21 of the largest U.S. cities. We found (PDF) that police spend considerably more time in neighborhoods with predominantly Hispanic, Asian, and in particular, Black residents. Importantly, this disparity persisted even after considering factors associated with a higher demand for police services, like violent crime and population density, and it was associated with an increased number of arrests in some of these communities.

Another illuminating study, from last year, looked at nearly a decade's worth of police stops in Virginia. It found that when a Black motorist was pulled over for speeding in a particular range, they were about 40 percent more likely to be cited for misdemeanor criminal charges than if a white motorist were pulled over for speeding in that same range. Law enforcement officers were much less likely overall to reduce potential misdemeanor charges to an infraction when policing in counties where Black motorists made up a larger share of the cited motorists.

These disparities in policing outcomes, so often associated with race and ethnicity, have led to divisive discourse on the necessity of police reform in America. On one hand, a mostly Black and Brown community may view neighborhood police presence as a form of surveillance. The residents aren't the ones being protected, but rather, the ones that “society” needs protection against, and are thereby targets of police action. This creates an “us versus them” atmosphere between the community and the police, leading to calls from both parties for police reform.

On the other hand, within the same city, a mostly white community may have a very different view of policing. Residents may feel comforted by the police (PDF), who are presumed to protect them from criminal outsiders. The latter viewpoint may find calls to reform and defund police unfounded, and even dangerous—for doing so would mean removing from their community the sense of safety and protection that police provide.

So how might we make progress on police reform? We need to realize that one-size-fits-all approaches to police reform are likely to fail.

Read the full article about reforming policing by Elicia M. John at RAND Corporation.