Purpose

Black citizen complaints are 81% of all citizen complaints in Detroit. Given that they are such a significant percentage of police complaints, it is worth examining further how Black citizens of Detroit experience police misconduct.

For the purposes of this study, the researcher has eliminated complaints listed as younger than 13 or older than 92. Complaints outside of this range were likely entered incorrectly.

Black Citizen Complaints Over Time

DPD data on citizen complaints against police officers covers a period from January 1st, 2016, through April 30th, 2018. With some anomalies, complaints cyclically rise in summer months and fall in winter months.

Black Citizen Complaints By Age And Gender

Breaking Black citizen complaints down by gender and age reveal similar seasonal patterns in complaints. Black Men and Women submit complaints in similar patterns. Black youth (through age 18) file complaints a low levels, but their complaint patterns are also seasonal and resemble the pattern of all other Black complainants.