New data from Mapping Police Violence shows that the United States established another troubling record last year for the number of individuals murdered by police, which has been steadily rising.
The number of individuals murdered by police increased from 1,250 in 2022 to 1,329 in 2023, as reported by Mapping Police Violence. With 10.9 murders per 1 million residents, New Mexico had the highest number of fatalities per capita, followed by West Virginia and Alaska.
Killed by Police
More than 1,300 people were killed by police in 2023. Notable instances include the following: the deadly assault on Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee; the gunshot wounding of an Atlanta-area environmentalist opposing the building of a fire and police training facility; and the "smothering" of a man in a Virginia hospital. Some of these incidents received widespread media attention.
The research, which relies heavily on news accounts and incorporates statistics from state and local government organizations, states that there were only 14 days without police killing last year and that, on average, law enforcement agents murdered someone every 6.6 hours.
According to statistics tracked by Campaign Zero's Mapping Police Violence initiative since 2013, the occurrence of such deaths has been on the increase. The number of persons murdered by gunshots and cops killed while on duty decreased last year, as per figures from the Gun Violence Archive. The number of police officers shot has risen.
Justin Nix, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, said: "We've seen it stay similar or even creep up a little bit at times when crime was falling or at times when crime was increasing. We saw it persist throughout a global pandemic when people were staying home for several weeks, months."
What Caused the Rise in Numbers?
In a report by USA Today, the research and statistics manager at Campaign Zero, Abdul Nasser Rad, estimates that about 90% of casualties were gunshot wounds. The video from the body-worn cameras may not be available to the public, but public records show that at least 42% of the events were recorded.
According to Rad, racial differences from prior years have also been holding strong. For instance, compared to white individuals, the likelihood of police killing Black persons was approximately three times higher. The victim's race was unknown in over 20% of the contacts, and Rad pointed out that race is one of the most difficult factors to follow.
Police shootings of unarmed citizens have been on the rise for some time, and Nix attributes this to the same thing that he thinks prompted the spike in officer shootings last year, which is guns.
Little improvements have been implemented over the last decade, such as more body cams and training on de-escalation and bias awareness. However, Nix said that these have not made an impact and that bigger changes are required.
