In the two years since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, deaths at the hands of U.S. cops have not decreased, despite widespread promises of law enforcement reforms, according to a new study.
As of last week, 249 people were killed this year by officers, averaging about three deaths a day, reportedMapping Police Violence, a non-profit research group.
“The shocking regularity of killings suggests that nothing substantive has really changed to disrupt the nationwide dynamic of police violence,” said Samuel Sinyangwe, a data scientist and policy analyst who founded the organization and Police Scorecard, which evaluates departments.
“It demonstrates that we’re not doing enough, and if anything, it appears to be getting slightly worse year over year,” he said.
Last year was one of the deadliest on record, with 1,136 people killed by police, the group reported.
The Washington Post reported that 2021 broke a record for policefatal shootingsnews outlet established a database in 2015 that tracks officer-involved killings.
President Joe Biden released a budget proposal this week that included $30 billion in law enforcement and crime prevention.
“The President recognizes that if we want to fight crime and make our neighborhoods safe, we need to investmore moneyin funding effective, accountable, community policing, not less,” the White House said in a statement.
But the announcement drew criticism from racial justice groups that said Biden proposed only $367 to support police reform.
Supporters of increasing police budgets say that is the best solution to stopping growing numbers of violent crimes.
But Sinyangwe said less than 5% of arrests in the United States are for serious, violent crimes. Instead, he said, data shows that increased police funding results in more arrests for low-level crimes.