The Paradox of Reform: Protests, Policies, and Police Killings in America

Monday, 15 June 2026, 12.45pm to 2pm

More than 1,100 people are killed by police in the United States every year. That number has remained essentially unchanged and, in recent years, has risen. The largest racial justice protests in American history, hundreds of new use-of-force policies, and millions of dollars spent on body cameras and de-escalation training have not reduced it. Police killed more people in every year after 2020 than in any year before it.

In this talk based on his study with Neal Caren, Robyn Moore, and Rashawn Ray, Andrews will examine how protest drove reforms and why those reforms had no measurable impact on police violence in large U.S. cities.

Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm.

Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.

Speaker(s): Kenneth T. Andrews (Washington University)

Series: Sociology Weekly Seminar Series

Venue: Department of Sociology – Seminar Room - 42-43 Park End Street Oxford OX1 1JD

Department: Sociology (Department)