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Washington Post Police Fatalities Data
Government & Civic Records
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About
Systematically documents fatal police encounters across the US, offering granular detail on each incident, including the police departments involved. It serves as a vital resource for studying public safety, law enforcement practices, and the sociological impacts of these events, helping to enhance transparency and accountability in policing.
Columns
- date: The exact date the police shooting incident took place, formatted as YYYY-MM-DD.
- name: The full name of the victim killed by police.
- age: The age of the victim at the time of the shooting. Ages range from 2 to 92.
- gender: The gender of the victim (predominantly Male).
- armed: Specifies the victim's armament status at the time of the incident (e.g., gun, knife).
- race: The racial or ethnic background of the victim, including categories such as White, Black, and Hispanic.
- city: The city where the shooting occurred (e.g., Los Angeles, Phoenix).
- state: The two-letter state abbreviation where the shooting occurred (e.g., CA, TX).
- flee: Indicates if the victim was attempting to flee or evade the police, categorized as 'not', 'car', or other methods.
- body_camera: A boolean value indicating whether body camera footage was available for the incident.
- signs_of_mental_illness: Specifies whether the victim exhibited indications of mental health issues during the encounter.
- police_departments_involved: The names of the specific law enforcement agencies involved in the incident.
Distribution
The data is provided as a CSV file (2024-07-23-washington-post-police-shootings-export.csv), weighing approximately 1.29 MB. It consists of 12 columns and contains 9,893 valid records. The dataset is expected to be updated annually.
Usage
This data is highly suitable for:
- Academic Research: Studying patterns of police use of lethal force, especially concerning factors like race, age, and signs of mental illness.
- Policy Analysis: Evaluating the effectiveness of law enforcement policies, such as the deployment of body cameras or training related to mental health crises.
- Journalism and Advocacy: Tracking trends in fatalities, identifying geographical hotspots (e.g., California and Texas are high), and quantifying accountability among specific police departments.
- Data Science: Modelling factors that contribute to fatal outcomes in police encounters.
Coverage
The data covers incidents across the United States nationwide. The time range spans nearly a full decade, starting from 2 January 2015 and concluding on 15 July 2024. Demographic scope includes detailed records of victim age (ranging from juveniles to the elderly), gender, and race.
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Who Can Use It
- Social Justice Advocates: To campaign for reform and transparency using verifiable, consistent incident reports.
- Sociologists and Criminologists: To perform quantitative analyses of fatal encounters and their societal roots.
- Journalists: For investigative reporting on law enforcement operations and associated risks.
- Government Analysts: To benchmark police department performance and inform training requirements.
Dataset Name Suggestions
- US Fatal Police Encounters 2015-2024
- Fatal US Shootings by Police Officers
- Washington Post Police Fatalities Data
Attributes
Original Data Source:Washington Post Police Fatalities Data
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