Weak Leadership and the Fallacy of Statistics

[Samuel]

In response to accusations of racial profiling, many agencies have begun keeping statistics on police/civilian encounters.

Yesterday, LA Mayor Hahn and LAPD Chief Bratton released RAW data to the public and, simply because the NUMBERS of Blacks and Hispanics that were pulled over and/or searched/detained was larger than the NUMBERS of Whites, basically told everyone that there was a serious problem with the way the law was being enforced by the LAPD.

What a crock of sh1t.

1. You never release raw data to the anti-police media and special interest groups.
2. If you're going to release information, you had better have all your ducks in a row before doing so (are prepared to answer questions why).
3. Numbers alone don't represent the truth. People who blindly trust statistics are idiots.
4. Never cave in to the pressures of special interest groups and/or politicians.

Man, and I had high hopes for Bratton after he started out defending the actions of officers in pursuits and taking the stance of declaring war on gangs...

[Lfpdlieu302]

i'm not understanding your complaint....is it that they released the information? or is it that you dont agree with it?

[Nitey]

I agree Samuel. To be honest, the only coverage that I have seen so far with Bratton was regarding to LAPD's vehicle pursuit policy and the changes that are to be made to it. I'm really hoping that the other data will blow over because another race card is the last thing our LEO's need pulled on them.

[Mongo]

I agree that raw data like that which the LAPD posted on its website yesterday can be shed in any light, depending on the point of view of the person utilizing the data. If 10 black men are pulled over and 1 white man is pulled over in a given day, does that mean the police are 'profiling? Doesn't it make a difference if 90% of the population the sample was taken from are black?

I agree i was a bad move. But don't blame Bratton. I think his attitude and the changes he's implementing will do L.A. much needed good.

If I am not mistaken, the data on pull-overs and detentions was posted by court order. There has been on-going litigation in the federal courts involving the LAPD's practices (which may be entirely valid legal complaints). Unfortunately, the parties entered a 'consent decree' (settlment agreement), which involves numerous steps the LAPD will agree to take to 'improve' it's past practiices. I know a lot has to do with hiring practice, racial profiling, use of force, and dealings with mentally handicapped. What we end up with is a department being run by the court system and the federal prosecutors. I'm not sure the 'solution' will be any better than the problem.

[Samuel]

I guess I'm most annoyed because,

1. Mayor Hahn's and, especially, Chief Bratton's first response to the RAW data was to basically state that LAPD officers were not doing their jobs properly. They should have researched further before passing judgment.
2. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and affect MY department. If one department caves in, "they'll" expect all to cave in...

Even though the numbers themselves may be accurate, what is not being revealed or even considered (as far as I know) is what the PCs were for the stops, where the stops took place (and the demographics of that area), how many stops were same ethnicity/race (officer/subject), how many stops were of stereotypical gang members (or similar street s***) (if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's gonna get shot at during duck hunting season... and if it ain't a duck, it should have more sense not to purposefully look/act/sound like a duck during duck hunting season), how many of those stopped had previous criminal histories, ETC.

Although I'm sure that racial profiling/prejudice does exist, my guess is that S***BAG profiling/prejudice occurs far more often and that those special interest groups are more concerned with law enforcement exposing the atrocious actions of a percentage of "their own people" (there's s*** in every group) than accepting and dealing with the fact that a percentage of "their own people" are BAD.

*** = c.u.m