The racial differentiation of policing in America has been widely researched and documented (Walker & Katz, 2008; Wilson & Kelling, 1982). Although these discrepancies are largely documented, there have been few changes within the policies, procedures and laws governing police officers. The results of this are two-fold. First, it has led to the continuation of individual acts of racism of police officers across the country. Second, it has upheld the systemic racism that results in the discrepancies in outcomes between Black people and white people, making it more likely that Black individuals will interact with police officers and have more negative outcomes as a result of these interactions. The reasons for this include lack of data regarding the race of the police officers involved in fatal officer-involved shootings, reliance on self-report of officers regarding instances of excessive force, and lack of accountability of individuals and departments alike. These issues are symptoms of the larger problems of individual and institutionalized racism that not only increases racism within those within the police force, but also increases the likeliness that any police officer will engage in violence against a person of color. To develop effective interventions that will change policing behaviors and the racism observed within the police force, one must first understand the historical development and function of policing and its intersection with both individual and institutional racism. This paper will provide a clear definition of racism followed by a function-based behavior analytic examination of the historical development of policing in America.

在美国，警务的种族差异得到了广泛的研究和记录（Walker＆Katz，2008； Wilson＆Kelling，1982）。尽管这些差异已被大量记录在案，但管理警务人员的政策，程序和法律却几乎没有变化。其结果是双重的。首先，它导致了全国警察种族主义行为的继续。第二，它维护了导致种族歧视的系统性种族主义，使黑人与白人之间的结果存在差异，从而使黑人更有可能与警察互动，并因此而产生更多的负面结果。造成这种情况的原因包括缺乏有关参与致命警官枪击事件的警官种族的数据，在过度使用武力以及个人和部门缺乏问责制的情况下，依赖军官的自我报告。这些问题是个人和制度化种族主义更大问题的症状，这些问题不仅增加了警察内部的种族主义，而且增加了任何警官对有色人种实施暴力的可能性。为了制定有效的干预措施，改变警务人员的警务行为和种族主义，首先必须了解警务的历史发展和功能以及警务与个人和机构种族主义的交汇。本文将为种族主义提供一个清晰的定义，然后对美国警务的历史发展进行基于功能的行为分析研究。