Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Re(Searching) The Truth About Our Criminal Justice System: Some Challenges, Janet Ruane

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article considers the current face-off between “facts vs. alternative facts” as it relates to research on lethal encounters between police and minority citizens. I begin by reviewing major measurement challenges for those studying lethal police shootings and potential improvements for how we document police shootings. I also consider the increasing reliance on use of body cams and surveillance videos for what they may (or may not) bring to improving documentation of police/citizen encounters. Next I address a larger issue that provides the context for the “facts vs. alternative facts” dilemma: science's loss of standing as the recognized superior way …