Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, Vol 55(2), Apr 2023, 130-141; doi:10.1037/cbs0000296
Scientific examination of racial disparities in police shootings shows conflicting evidence of anti-Black, anti-White, or no racial bias. Experimental studies that attempt to control for extraneous factors often lack ecological validity and have inconsistent approaches for measuring racial bias. Given the mounting outcry for police reform, including recommendations for racial bias screening and training, clarifying the relationship between observable lethal force behaviors and implicit racial bias is an urgent matter. Building on limited extant literature, the present study examined racial disparities in shoot/no-shoot decision-making among Canadian police officers (n = 187) during their service’s annual recertification assessment that manipulated suspect race (Black or White) in otherwise identical scenarios. Lethal force errors were compared to implicit racial bias scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and other demographic variables including officer sex, age, years of experience, and race. We found no statistically significant difference in error rates for simulations featuring a Black or White suspect for shoot (2.5%, 3.1%, respectively) or no-shoot scenarios (4.6%, 3.0%, respectively). Lethal force errors were not predicted by suspect race, extent of autonomic arousal, or IAT scores. However, the absolute frequencies of lethal force errors were greater in scenarios featuring Black suspects. The current findings suggest that widespread reform to police training is urgently needed to reduce racial disparities in use of force (UOF) and lethal force errors overall. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)