Police unions have come under fire following recent police killings of Black Americans. For the most part, the unions work to improve pay and job conditions for police. But some critics say these police union contracts cost cities too much and make it hard to hold officers accountable.
Our new study with fellow Georgia State University researchers adds a troubling finding to this debate: As officers’ pay went up in cities with police unions, more Black Americans died from police actions. This phenomenon didn’t happen for white Americans.
We examined 282 U.S. city police departments from 2000 to 2013. Of these agencies, about 74% permitted collective bargaining.
We found that when officers get paid more, people die at lower rates during police encounters in general. But in cities with police unions, this was true only for white people. As officer salaries increased, the death rate for Black people from police actions also rose slightly.
A question of accountability
Higher salaries can attract more professional officers who avoid reckless behaviors, such as jumping in front of fleeing cars and then using force out of fear of being struck. Instead, they’re likely to use safer strategies, not necessarily out of compassion but to keep their jobs.
Strong job protections from collective bargaining, however, can make some officers less worried about consequences. This might explain why better pay didn’t benefit Black people encountering unionized police forces.
Union agreements often include rules that delay questioning officers after incidents or let disciplinary records be hidden or erased. Even after being terminated, problem officers are often rehired through arbitration.
Police unions have come under fire following recent police killings of Black Americans. For the most part, the unions work to improve pay and job conditions for police. But some critics say these police union contracts cost cities too much and make it hard to hold officers accountable.
Our new study with fellow Georgia State University researchers adds a troubling finding to this debate: As officers’ pay went up in cities with police unions, more Black Americans died from police actions. This phenomenon didn’t happen for white Americans.
We examined 282 U.S. city police departments from 2000 to 2013. Of these agencies, about 74% permitted collective bargaining.
We found that when officers get paid more, people die at lower rates during police encounters in general. But in cities with police unions, this was true only for white people. As officer salaries increased, the death rate for Black people from police actions also rose slightly.