[The Appearance of] Justice Department launches study of racial bias among police
/Broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities, the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.
The police shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri underscored the need for the long-planned initiative, Holder said in an interview with The Associated Press.
He said the three-year project, which will involve training, data analysis and interviews with community residents, could be a "silver lining" if it helps ease racial tensions and "pockets of distrust that show up between law enforcement and the communities that they serve."
"What I saw in Ferguson confirmed for me that the need for such an effort was pretty clear," Holder said.
The five cities have not yet been selected, but the researchers expect that the cities will offer training to officers and command staff on issues of racial bias.
