Racial bias in 911 calls and policing
Subject in Social Sciences
Racial bias in 911 calls and policing has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including Stuff You Should Know. 2 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Chuck BryantCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Bryant cites a 2013 ACLU study finding much slower police response times in Chicago's Black Grand Crossing neighborhood than in white Jefferson Park.
“waited 11 minutes for a cop to come after a priority call, two and a half minutes for the predominantly white neighborhood of Jefferson Park”
Stuff You Should Know: Selects: 911 Is Not a Joke (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 56:29
Bryant argues that the 'suspicious person' category is problematic because it depends on human perception, which can be racially biased.
“that's where it gets dodgy because that comes down to a human being's perception, which can be very tilted”
Stuff You Should Know: Selects: 911 Is Not a Joke (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 11:31
Josh ClarkCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Clark suggests callers pause and ask whether they would call 911 if the suspicious person were of a different race.
“would I call 911 if this person were white? Right. Or if you're a black person doing this, say, would I call 911 if this person were black?”
Stuff You Should Know: Selects: 911 Is Not a Joke (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 12:10
Podcasts
- Stuff You Should Know · 1 episode
Episodes
Selects: 911 Is Not a JokeStuff You Should Know · Jun 6, 2026 · 54 min
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant explain the history, technology, and problems of the U.S. 911 emergency system, from Haleyville, Alabama to Next Generation 911.