Police Forces Skew White in Largest U.S. Cities

The racial composition of police departments often fails to correlate with the populations they serve. In five of the largest U.S. cities, white officers vastly over-represent the share of white residents.

Published Aug. 20, 2014

Racial Composition of Nation’s Largest City Police Departments & the Cities They Serve

Percentage of people belonging to a particular race

Show 2008 police dataHide 2008 police data

Note: City populations as of 2010, police force data as of Aug. 2014

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Justice Statistics, city police departments

GRAPHIC: CHLOE WHITEAKER / BLOOMBERG VISUAL DATA; EDITORIAL: ESMÉ E. DEPREZ AND JAMES NASH / BLOOMBERG NEWS