Why ending police violence is a public health issue: A Q&A with APHA’s Georges Benjamin

How is police violence a public health issue?

Violence, in all of its forms, is a public health issue because it impacts both physical health and mental health. It's a significant problem, because violence can lead to injury and even death and undermines both the sense of community well-being and the sense of personal well-being. And we know that like other violence, police violence is preventable.

There's also the issue of health equity. There are racial disparities in people who are affected by police violence. Would you say that's correct?

Yes, one of the challenges we have in our country is that there's a significant unbalanced power dynamic between the police and many communities, especially communities of color.

Particularly, that's an issue of where there’s implicit and explicit racial bias among some police, where the police department does not relate to the community, and where members of that department aren't from that community. It creates a significant problem because it creates an us-versus-them mindset in the police and also in the community.

Experiencing and observing injustice, like stop-and-frisk and other forms of racial profiling and police brutality, can result in communities becoming very suspicious and afraid, and viewing the police as outsiders and not helpful to them. They don't feel safe and they don't feel trusting. And you can't have a relationship when you don't feel trust.

Health equity definitely comes into play as well, and it’s something APHA is very concerned about. In fact, November’s APHA Annual Meeting will focus on health equity, so we expect to be sharing a lot of new information on the issue this year.

How might public health bridge that gap between law enforcement and communities, particularly these communities that have been unfairly targeted by police?

The public health community has a responsibility to encourage dialogue and be part of the oversight — any power that is absolute can be corrupted. That means collecting data, engaging stakeholders, identifying interventions, educating police and community members and focusing on prevention, just as we do with other health challenges. Public health, too, in its social determinants role, can be part of that process.

On the police department side, they can engage in community policing, get to know the community, recruit people from the community to be on the police force and work with the community so they build a trusted relationship. Addressing racism and bias are also key.

Developing relationships engenders understanding, which helps assure routine traffic stops are respectful encounters. Use of excessive force is less likely when you know the people you work and live with.

Another way is to help with problems that may not necessarily be viewed as traditional policing problems or traditional criminal justice problems. That can mean things like making sure that a lost child gets home safely or supporting youth activities like basketball or skateboarding. These kinds of things certainly help the police better understand the community and engage in the community every day.

The community can work with the police department and get to know the police officers. Have conversations, invite them into community meetings, hear about what community activities are occurring and let the police department know about them.

What has APHA done as an organization to address police violence and these other issues concerning racial profiling and use of excessive force?

APHA has a suite of policy statements that we've had over the years that guide our work. We’ve pointed out that good community policing is an important first step.

We’ve also said that police violence is wrong. We’ve stood up for people who have been victims of police violence. And our journal, the American Journal of Public Health, has published research around police violence to raise awareness and share data.

Calling for public accountability, calling for registries so that we account for police violence activities and making sure those are fully transparent are an important part of what we in public health do.

If something hurts or kills people, it's a public health issue. So if police actions cause death or are violent, it’s a public health problem.

We want to work very hard to be part of the solution. For many years, we have been very engaged in calling out police violence before it became something that was as widely known about as it is today.

There was a proposed policy statement on ending police violence before APHA's Governing Council in November. It wasn't adopted. Why not?

It was about the way the policy statement was written. As you know, our policy statements — which are written by APHA members — need to be based on the best evidence available and be balanced in their approach. Unfortunately, this proposed statement was not viewed as meeting that high standard. APHA’s Joint Policy Committee, which reviews the proposed statements, noted the need for substantive improvement. And while there were some improvements, they were felt to be insufficient by a majority of the Governing Council.

It’s important that we get our policy statements right. Because when we put out statements, people emulate them. We need our policies to be evidence-based and helpful to the public as well as the public health community.

That doesn’t mean APHA doesn’t have a basis for addressing police violence as a public health issue. We have policy statements on the books that allow us to address many aspects of this issue. Police violence is absolutely a public health issue that we have been working on for many years and one we will continue to work on.

In fact, a work group of members with expertise on the topic is coming together to develop a policy statement proposal that meets the required evidence-based standard. That new proposal can then be evaluated by our Joint Policy Committee and debated for approval by our Governing Council.

What other advice or what would you like to leave public health workers with in terms of their responsibility in curbing police violence?

We call on the public health community to address violence in all of its forms.

Because of the power that law enforcement has over communities, police violence is very detrimental to the health of communities. So the public health community needs to continue to support community policing and policies that strengthen it.

At the same time, APHA is on the side of the public, and works for its health. That means we will continue to speak out and work to protect the public from police violence.

Thanks, Dr. Benjamin.

Learn how APHA policy statements are developed and how members can be part of the process in this Q&A on Public Health Newswire.