Studying policing behaviors to understand the current and emerging policy landscape that will address racial health disparities in policing

The Foundation's initiative, Policies for Action: Policy and Law Research to Build a Culture of Health, was designed to form the evidence base regarding how policy and law can promote and may be necessary to build a Culture of Health by: (1) supporting health policy research focused on advancing a Culture of Health and supporting real-world empirical applications of that research; and (2) establishing hubs throughout the United States that will provide additional capacity to identify, develop, and oversee new and emerging areas of research in the field. This research seeks to understand the current and emerging policy landscape to address racial health disparities in policing. The project will be co-led by Brookings Senior Fellow Rashawn Ray and Rubenstein Fellow Keon Gilbert, in collaboration with Emory University's Alyasah Ali Sewell and the University of Maryland's Jennifer D. Roberts. The research team will conduct two city case studies, in Baltimore and St. Louis, which will provide insights into policing behaviors and then link those behaviors to a range of social, health, economic, and political determinants and outcomes (e.g., reductions in the use of force by police and in fatal outcomes in interactions with the public). Those case studies will document policy changes and engage stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, and the broader public, to offer context for changes seen in policing policies as well as in community health and well-being and in individual-level mental health. Finally, the case studies will be supplemented by a policy brief, blogs, and convenings to highlight interesting findings and help share results with a wider audience.