Prior violent-intelligence information compounds appearance-based bias for officers

Evidence

First responders, however, not only have more information about the suspects than just their appearance, but most of the time that information already indicates that the person is violent, adding another layer of bias to their judgment. Thus, as the last actors in this chain of events that constitutes community enforcement, first responders might enter the interaction with the suspect having multiple goals in mind: to be just, and to protect the community, themselves, and also the suspect. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 293

Categorization

• CANDY: The point that real officers get prior ‘violent’ information that lab subjects lack — so lab bias measures may even understate real-world bias — is a crisp conversational hook.