Overrepresentation of whites in police departments is getting worse, not better

Economist Jed Kolko pulled some demographic data Thursday morning that sheds some light on race and policing in the United States.

First, the shrinking and then growing-again gap between black and white representations on police forces:

Difference in non-White share between police & all adults narrowed sharply until 1990 and has since widened. pic.twitter.com/GFSjyQaba0

— Jed Kolko (@JedKolko) December 11, 2014

Second, the way this intersects with the fact that younger cohorts are less white than older ones:

Difference in non-White share between police & all adults is narrower for older age groups, wider for younger. pic.twitter.com/VMdFE8Y315

— Jed Kolko (@JedKolko) December 11, 2014

From the viewpoint of younger African-Americans, in other words, police departments massively underrepresent people like them. And contrary to feel-good stories about race in America, there's no progress being made. There was a lot of progress between 1950 and 1990, but 1990 was 25 years ago. Over the past generation or so, things have gotten worse.

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