Policing, Race, & Technology

Abstract

An American President has limited powers of intervention. In no real sense is President Biden in charge of the more than 18,000 police departments around the country. Like schools and fire departments, policing is largely a local institution. Even so, we see some early signs that President Biden feels the gravity of the moment. His nominations of civil rights lawyers to assume top leader-ship positions at the Justice Department reflect that seriousness. So too does Attorney General Garland’s announcement that the Department will investigate the policies and procedures of the Minneapolis Police Department after Derek Chauvin’s conviction for killing George Floyd. But it is still early in the President’s term. What are some key challenges that lay ahead, subjects worthy of policy focus for this new administration? There are two urgent issues, seemingly unrelated, that have closer connections than might be obvious at first glance.

Keywords: police, law, technology, race, Fourth Amendment, law enforcement

JEL Classification: K14