0:00:01.250,0:00:04.226
When people meet me[br]for the first time on my job,

0:00:04.250,0:00:07.726
they often feel inspired to share[br]a revelation they've had about me,

0:00:07.750,0:00:10.268
and it kind of goes something like this.

0:00:10.292,0:00:12.559
"Hey, I know why police chiefs

0:00:12.583,0:00:15.018
like to share their deep,[br]dark secrets with you.

0:00:15.042,0:00:18.059
Phil, with your PhD in psychology,

0:00:18.083,0:00:19.351
and your shiny bald head,

0:00:19.375,0:00:21.518
you're basically[br]the Black Dr. Phil, right?"

0:00:21.542,0:00:22.768
(Laughter)

0:00:22.792,0:00:25.434
And for each and every person[br]who's ever said that to me

0:00:25.458,0:00:26.726
I do want to say thank you

0:00:26.750,0:00:29.351
because that was the first time[br]I ever heard that joke.

0:00:29.375,0:00:30.393
(Laughter)

0:00:30.417,0:00:33.018
But for everybody else,[br]I really hope you'll believe me

0:00:33.042,0:00:35.684
when I tell you no police chief[br]likes talking to me

0:00:35.708,0:00:37.934
because they think[br]I'm a clinical psychologist.

0:00:37.958,0:00:39.226
And also I'm not.

0:00:39.250,0:00:42.101
I have no idea what your mother[br]did to you, and I can't help.

0:00:42.125,0:00:43.143
(Laughter)

0:00:43.167,0:00:45.184
Police chiefs like talking to me

0:00:45.208,0:00:49.809
because I'm an expert on a problem[br]that feels impossible for them to solve:

0:00:49.833,0:00:51.768
racism in their profession.

0:00:51.792,0:00:54.268
Now my expertise[br]comes from being a scientist

0:00:54.292,0:00:58.101
who studies how our minds learn[br]to associate Blackness and crime

0:00:58.125,0:01:01.893
and misperceive Black children[br]as older than they actually are.

0:01:01.917,0:01:04.684
It also comes from studying[br]actual police behavior,

0:01:04.708,0:01:06.768
which is how I know that every year,

0:01:06.792,0:01:08.934
about one in five adults[br]in the United States

0:01:08.958,0:01:11.018
has contact with law enforcement.

0:01:11.042,0:01:14.393
Out of those, about a million[br]are targeted for police use of force.

0:01:14.417,0:01:15.684
And if you're Black,

0:01:15.708,0:01:18.851
you're two to four times more likely[br]to be targeted for that force

0:01:18.875,0:01:20.143
than if you're white.

0:01:20.167,0:01:23.708
But it also comes from knowing[br]what those statistics feel like.

0:01:24.875,0:01:28.434
I've experienced the fear[br]of seeing an officer unclip their gun

0:01:28.458,0:01:32.726
and the panic of realizing that someone[br]might mistake my 13-year-old godson

0:01:32.750,0:01:34.292
as old enough to be a threat.

0:01:35.333,0:01:37.434
So when a police chief,

0:01:37.458,0:01:38.976
or a pastor,

0:01:39.000,0:01:40.934
or an imam, or a mother --

0:01:40.958,0:01:45.851
when they call me after an officer[br]shoots another unarmed Black child,

0:01:45.875,0:01:48.851
I understand a bit[br]of the pain in their voice.

0:01:48.875,0:01:54.143
It's the pain of a heart breaking[br]when it fails to solve a deadly problem.

0:01:54.167,0:01:56.226
Breaking from trying to do something

0:01:56.250,0:02:02.083
that feels simultaneously[br]necessary and impossible.

0:02:03.000,0:02:05.768
The way trying to fix[br]racism usually feels.

0:02:05.792,0:02:09.184
Necessary and impossible.

0:02:09.208,0:02:12.018
So, police chiefs like talking to me[br]because I'm an expert,

0:02:12.042,0:02:15.018
but I doubt they'd be lining up[br]to lie down on Dr. Phil's couch

0:02:15.042,0:02:17.309
if I told them all their[br]problems were hopeless.

0:02:17.333,0:02:19.059
All of my research,

0:02:19.083,0:02:21.476
and the decade of work[br]I've done with my center --

0:02:21.500,0:02:23.143
the Center for Policing Equity --

0:02:23.167,0:02:25.184
actually leads me to a hopeful conclusion

0:02:25.208,0:02:27.393
amidst all the heartbreak[br]of race in America,

0:02:27.417,0:02:29.018
which is this:

0:02:29.042,0:02:33.059
trying to solve racism feels impossible

0:02:33.083,0:02:36.934
because our definition of racism[br]makes it impossible --

0:02:36.958,0:02:38.934
but it doesn't have to be that way.

0:02:38.958,0:02:40.226
So here's what I mean.

0:02:40.250,0:02:42.018
The most common definition of racism

0:02:42.042,0:02:47.059
is that racist behaviors are the product[br]of contaminated hearts and minds.

0:02:47.083,0:02:50.059
When you listen to the way we talk[br]about trying to cure racism,

0:02:50.083,0:02:51.351
you'll hear it.

0:02:51.375,0:02:53.143
"We need to stamp out hatred.

0:02:53.167,0:02:55.393
We need to combat ignorance," right?

0:02:55.417,0:02:56.976
It's hearts and minds.

0:02:57.000,0:03:01.643
Now the only problem with that definition[br]is that it's completely wrong --

0:03:01.667,0:03:03.309
both scientifically and otherwise.

0:03:03.333,0:03:06.018
One of the foundational insights[br]of social psychology

0:03:06.042,0:03:09.059
is that attitudes are[br]very weak predictors of behaviors,

0:03:09.083,0:03:10.601
but more importantly than that,

0:03:10.625,0:03:13.351
no Black community[br]has ever taken to the streets

0:03:13.375,0:03:15.708
to demand that white people[br]would love us more.

0:03:16.833,0:03:20.101
Communities march to stop the killing,

0:03:20.125,0:03:23.500
because racism[br]is about behaviors, not feelings.

0:03:24.542,0:03:26.226
And even when civil rights leaders

0:03:26.250,0:03:29.809
like King and Fannie Lou Hamer[br]used the language of love,

0:03:29.833,0:03:31.851
the racism they fought,

0:03:31.875,0:03:34.309
that was segregation and brutality.

0:03:34.333,0:03:36.726
It's actions over feelings.

0:03:36.750,0:03:38.809
And every one of[br]those leaders would agree,

0:03:38.833,0:03:41.476
if a definition of racism[br]makes it harder to see

0:03:41.500,0:03:43.518
the injuries racism causes,

0:03:43.542,0:03:45.143
that's not just wrong.

0:03:45.167,0:03:48.643
A definition that cares[br]about the intentions of abusers

0:03:48.667,0:03:50.684
more than the harms to the abused --

0:03:50.708,0:03:52.917
that definition of racism is racist.

0:03:54.000,0:04:00.268
But when we change the definition[br]of racism from attitudes to behaviors,

0:04:00.292,0:04:04.851
we transform that problem[br]from impossible to solvable.

0:04:04.875,0:04:07.518
Because you can measure behaviors.

0:04:07.542,0:04:09.268
And when you can measure a problem,

0:04:09.292,0:04:12.851
you can tap into one of the only[br]universal rules of organizational success.

0:04:12.875,0:04:15.101
You've got a problem or a goal,[br]you measure it,

0:04:15.125,0:04:17.267
you hold yourself accountable[br]to that metric.

0:04:17.291,0:04:20.059
So if every other organization[br]measures success this way,

0:04:20.083,0:04:22.083
why can't we do that in policing?

0:04:23.542,0:04:26.434
It turns out we actually already do.

0:04:26.458,0:04:30.018
Police departments already practice[br]data-driven accountability,

0:04:30.042,0:04:31.518
it's just for crime.

0:04:31.542,0:04:34.601
The vast majority of police departments[br]across the United States

0:04:34.625,0:04:37.351
use a system called CompStat.

0:04:37.375,0:04:39.893
It's a process that,[br]when you use it right,

0:04:39.917,0:04:42.309
it identifies crime data,

0:04:42.333,0:04:44.268
it tracks it and identifies patterns,

0:04:44.292,0:04:47.351
and then it allows departments[br]to hold themselves accountable

0:04:47.375,0:04:49.434
to public safety goals.

0:04:49.458,0:04:54.268
It usually works either by directing[br]police attentions and police resources,

0:04:54.292,0:04:56.809
or changing police behavior[br]once they show up.

0:04:56.833,0:04:59.393
So if I see a string of muggings[br]in that neighborhood,

0:04:59.417,0:05:02.226
I'm going to want to increase[br]patrols in that neighborhood.

0:05:02.250,0:05:03.726
If I see a spike in homicides,

0:05:03.750,0:05:06.518
I'm going to want to talk[br]to the community to find out why

0:05:06.542,0:05:09.958
and collaborate on changes on police[br]behavior to tamp down the violence.

0:05:10.625,0:05:14.934
Now when you define racism[br]in terms of measurable behaviors,

0:05:14.958,0:05:16.333
you can do the same thing.

0:05:17.208,0:05:20.226
You can create a CompStat for justice.

0:05:20.250,0:05:23.393
That's exactly what the Center[br]for Policing Equity has been doing.

0:05:23.417,0:05:25.059
So let me tell you how that works.

0:05:25.083,0:05:27.018
After a police department invites us in,

0:05:27.042,0:05:29.684
we handle the legal stuff,[br]we engage with the community,

0:05:29.708,0:05:32.184
our next step is to analyze their data.

0:05:32.208,0:05:34.559
The goal of these analyses is to determine

0:05:34.583,0:05:39.018
how much do crime, poverty,[br]neighborhood demographics

0:05:39.042,0:05:42.601
predict, let's say, police use of force?

0:05:42.625,0:05:44.601
Let's say that those factors predict

0:05:44.625,0:05:47.333
police will use force[br]on this many Black people.

0:05:48.125,0:05:49.393
There?

0:05:49.417,0:05:50.726
So our next question is,

0:05:50.750,0:05:52.809
how many Black people[br]actually are targeted

0:05:52.833,0:05:54.101
for police use of force?

0:05:54.125,0:05:55.851
Let's say it's this many.

0:05:55.875,0:05:57.375
So what's up with the gap?

0:05:58.167,0:06:00.726
Well, a big portion of the gap[br]is the difference

0:06:00.750,0:06:04.018
between what's predicted[br]by things police can't control

0:06:04.042,0:06:06.518
and what's predicted[br]by things police can control --

0:06:06.542,0:06:08.518
their policies and their behaviors.

0:06:08.542,0:06:11.101
And what we're looking for[br]are the types of contact

0:06:11.125,0:06:12.559
or the areas in the city

0:06:12.583,0:06:14.393
where that gap is biggest,

0:06:14.417,0:06:16.268
because then we can tell our partners,

0:06:16.292,0:06:20.018
"Look here. Solve this problem first."

0:06:20.042,0:06:23.101
It's actually the kind of therapy[br]police chiefs can get behind,

0:06:23.125,0:06:27.518
because there is nothing so inspiring[br]in the face of our history of racism

0:06:27.542,0:06:28.917
as a solvable problem.

0:06:30.333,0:06:35.018
Look, if the community in Minneapolis[br]asked their police department

0:06:35.042,0:06:38.184
to remedy the moral failings[br]of race in policing,

0:06:38.208,0:06:40.309
I'm not sure they know how to do that.

0:06:40.333,0:06:41.976
But if instead the community says,

0:06:42.000,0:06:45.059
"Hey, you're data say you're beating up[br]a lot of homeless folks.

0:06:45.083,0:06:46.476
You want to knock that off?"

0:06:46.500,0:06:49.101
That's something police[br]can learn how to do.

0:06:49.125,0:06:50.518
And they did.

0:06:50.542,0:06:53.601
So in 2015, the Minneapolis PD let us know

0:06:53.625,0:06:56.559
their community was concerned[br]they were using force too often.

0:06:56.583,0:06:58.851
So we showed them[br]how to leverage their own data

0:06:58.875,0:07:01.809
to identify situations[br]where force could be avoided.

0:07:01.833,0:07:03.393
And when you look at those data,

0:07:03.417,0:07:06.934
you'll see that a disproportionate number[br]of their use-of-force incidents,

0:07:06.958,0:07:09.726
they involved somebody who's homeless,[br]in mental distress,

0:07:09.750,0:07:12.726
has a substance abuse issue[br]or some combination of all three --

0:07:12.750,0:07:14.476
more than you expect

0:07:14.500,0:07:17.268
based on those factors[br]I was just telling you about.

0:07:17.292,0:07:18.792
So right there's the gap.

0:07:19.750,0:07:21.559
Next question is why.

0:07:21.583,0:07:25.226
Well, it turns out homeless folks[br]often need services.

0:07:25.250,0:07:28.684
And when those services are unavailable,[br]when they can't get their meds,

0:07:28.708,0:07:30.476
they lose their spot in the shelter,

0:07:30.500,0:07:34.434
they're more likely to engage in behaviors[br]that end up with folks calling the cops.

0:07:34.458,0:07:35.768
And when the cops show up,

0:07:35.792,0:07:37.851
they're more likely[br]to resist intervention,

0:07:37.875,0:07:40.851
oftentimes because they haven't[br]actually done anything illegal,

0:07:40.875,0:07:43.351
they're literally just living outside.

0:07:43.375,0:07:47.101
The problem wasn't a need to train[br]officers differently in Minneapolis.

0:07:47.125,0:07:49.726
The problem was the fact[br]that folks were using the cops

0:07:49.750,0:07:53.059
to "treat" substance abuse[br]and homelessness in the first place.

0:07:53.083,0:07:56.476
So the city of Minneapolis found a way[br]to deliver social services

0:07:56.500,0:07:57.768
and city resources

0:07:57.792,0:08:01.184
to the homeless community[br]before anybody ever called the cops.

0:08:01.208,0:08:05.333
(Applause)

0:08:08.375,0:08:11.184
Now the problem isn't[br]always homelessness, right?

0:08:11.208,0:08:13.934
Sometimes the problem is[br]fear of immigration enforcement,

0:08:13.958,0:08:16.434
like it was in Salt Lake City,[br]or it is in Houston,

0:08:16.458,0:08:18.226
where the chiefs had to come forward

0:08:18.250,0:08:21.184
and say, "We're not going[br]to deport you just for calling 911."

0:08:21.208,0:08:22.893
Or the problem is foot pursuits,

0:08:22.917,0:08:24.226
like it was in Las Vegas,

0:08:24.250,0:08:28.101
where they had to train their officers[br]to slow down and take a breath

0:08:28.125,0:08:31.851
instead of allowing the adrenaline[br]in that situation to escalate it.

0:08:31.875,0:08:33.851
It's searches in Oakland;

0:08:33.875,0:08:36.726
it's pulling folks[br]out of cars in San Jose;

0:08:36.750,0:08:38.976
it's the way that they patrol[br]the neighborhoods

0:08:39.000,0:08:41.268
that make up Zone 3 in Pittsburgh

0:08:41.292,0:08:44.476
and the Black neighborhoods[br]closest to the waterfront in Baltimore.

0:08:44.500,0:08:45.768
But in each city,

0:08:45.792,0:08:48.184
if we can give them a solvable problem,

0:08:48.208,0:08:50.309
they get busy solving it.

0:08:50.333,0:08:54.393
And together our partners have seen[br]an average of 25 percent fewer arrests,

0:08:54.417,0:08:55.768
fewer use-of-force incidents

0:08:55.792,0:08:58.934
and 13 percent fewer[br]officer-related injuries.

0:08:58.958,0:09:02.476
Essentially, by identifying[br]the biggest gaps

0:09:02.500,0:09:05.226
and directing police[br]attentions to solving it,

0:09:05.250,0:09:09.917
we can deliver a data-driven vaccine[br]against racial disparities in policing.

0:09:11.583,0:09:16.542
Right now, we have the capacity[br]to partner with about 40 cities at a time.

0:09:17.417,0:09:21.268
That means if we want the United States[br]to stop feeling exhausted

0:09:21.292,0:09:23.559
from trying to solve[br]an impossible problem,

0:09:23.583,0:09:26.226
we're going to need[br]a lot more infrastructure.

0:09:26.250,0:09:29.851
Because our goal is to have[br]our tools be able to scale

0:09:29.875,0:09:32.351
the brilliance of dedicated organizers

0:09:32.375,0:09:34.518
and reform-minded chiefs.

0:09:34.542,0:09:37.518
So to get there we're going to need[br]the kind of collective will

0:09:37.542,0:09:38.851
that desegregated schools

0:09:38.875,0:09:41.976
and won the franchise for the sons[br]and daughters of former slaves

0:09:42.000,0:09:44.309
so that we can build[br]a kind of health care system

0:09:44.333,0:09:47.208
capable of delivering our vaccine[br]across the country.

0:09:48.417,0:09:51.559
Because our audacious idea

0:09:51.583,0:09:53.559
is to deliver a CompStat for justice

0:09:53.583,0:09:57.351
to departments serving 100 million people[br]across the United States

0:09:57.375,0:09:58.667
in the next five years.

0:09:59.500,0:10:04.917
(Applause and cheers)

0:10:06.792,0:10:10.059
Doing that would mean arming[br]about a third of the United States

0:10:10.083,0:10:15.268
with tools to reduce racial disparities[br]in police stops, arrests and use of force,

0:10:15.292,0:10:18.559
but also tools to reduce[br]predatory cash bail

0:10:18.583,0:10:19.851
and mass incarceration,

0:10:19.875,0:10:21.143
family instability

0:10:21.167,0:10:23.684
and chronic mental health[br]and substance abuse issues,

0:10:23.708,0:10:26.976
and every other ill that our broken[br]criminal-legal systems aggravate.

0:10:27.000,0:10:30.143
Because every unnecessary[br]arrest we can prevent

0:10:30.167,0:10:33.851
saves a family from the terrifying journey[br]through each one of those systems.

0:10:33.875,0:10:36.559
Just like every gun we can leave holstered

0:10:36.583,0:10:40.583
saves an entire community[br]from a lifetime of grief.

0:10:42.917,0:10:45.809
Look, each and every one of us,

0:10:45.833,0:10:48.500
we measure the things that matter to us.

0:10:49.750,0:10:51.726
Businesses measure profit;

0:10:51.750,0:10:54.809
good students keep track of their grades;

0:10:54.833,0:10:57.309
families chart the growth[br]of their children

0:10:57.333,0:10:59.726
with pencil markings in doorframes.

0:10:59.750,0:11:02.268
We all measure the things[br]that matter most to us,

0:11:02.292,0:11:05.143
which is why we feel the neglect

0:11:05.167,0:11:08.268
when nobody's bothering[br]to measure anything at all.

0:11:08.292,0:11:10.851
For the past quarter millennium,

0:11:10.875,0:11:13.809
we've defined the problems[br]of race and policing

0:11:13.833,0:11:16.214
in a way that's functionally[br]impossible to measure.

0:11:17.875,0:11:22.184
But now the science says[br]we can just change that definition.

0:11:22.208,0:11:24.476
And the folks at the Center[br]for Policing Equity,

0:11:24.500,0:11:26.309
I actually think we may have measured

0:11:26.333,0:11:28.768
more police behavior[br]than any one in human history.

0:11:28.792,0:11:33.476
And that means that once we have the will

0:11:33.500,0:11:35.083
and the resources to do it,

0:11:36.708,0:11:38.726
this could be the generation

0:11:38.750,0:11:42.583
that stops feeling like racism[br]is an unsolvable problem

0:11:44.542,0:11:46.059
and instead sees

0:11:46.083,0:11:51.875
that what's been necessary[br]for far too long is possible.

0:11:52.875,0:11:54.184
Thank you.

0:11:54.208,0:11:58.458
(Applause and cheers)