Race, Policing, and the Limitations of Using Research for Promoting Social Justice

Guest Speaker: Ed Byrnes

In this guest presentation, Dr. Byrnes will discuss five years of research on policing and race in the City of Spokane.  Participants will discuss the limitations of relying on research to promote social justice, and discuss how the racial disproportionally observed in policing is also evident throughout our society, including our educational and financial sectors. 

Biography:  Ed Byrnes is a professor in the EWU School of Social Work, where he has served since 2003, including a decade as their undergraduate program director.   Dr. Byrnes conducted research on race and policing with the Spokane police department from 2013 to 2019 and has shared the results with our community in two reports.  Before coming to Washington, Dr. Byrnes was a founding member of the Criminal Justice Center at the University of Utah, and presents his research on speciality courts as alternatives to incarceration in academic publications and at conferences.

SERMON TEXT CLICK HERE

Research by Ed Byrnes: Officer Contacts with Civilians and Race in the City of Spokane: A Quantitative Analysis