Based on population, a Black person was 3x as likely and a Latinx person was 0.5x as likely to be killed by police as a White person in Sacramento County from 2013-21.
We obtained data on 58 California sheriff's departments.
Scorecard at a Glance
Average for 4 Sections: 35%
Scores range from 0-100% comparing counties with over 250k population. Counties with higher scores spend less on policing, use less force, are more likely to hold officers accountable and make fewer arrests for low-level offenses.
Police Funding: 29% | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Police Budget Cost per Person | ||||
Misconduct Settlements | ||||
Fines/Forfeitures | ||||
Police Presence/Over-Policing (Officers per Population) |
Police Violence: 50% | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Force Used per Arrest | ||||
Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
Unarmed Victims of Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
Racial Disparities in Deadly Force |
Police Accountability: 6% | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Misconduct Complaints Upheld | ||||
Excessive Force Complaints Upheld | ||||
Discrimination Complaints Upheld | ||||
Criminal Misconduct Complaints Upheld |
Approach to Law Enforcement: 56% | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses | ||||
Homicides Solved | ||||
Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests | ||||
Jail Incarceration Rate | ||||
Jail Deaths per 1,000 |
Key Findings
17 Killings by Police
1,545 civilian complaints of police misconduct
2% were ruled in favor of civilians from 2016-21.
99,332 arrests made
57% of all arrests were for low-level, non-violent offenses from 2013-21.
Police Funding By Year
$290.9M | 657,602 Residents | $515 per Resident
More Police Funding per Capita than 81% of Depts
Source: US Census Bureau
Number of officers per 1k population
1,271 Officers | 19.3 per 10k Residents
More Officers per Population than 55% of Depts
Source: Federal LEOKA Database
Police Shootings
More Police Shootings per Arrest than 78% of Depts
31 Shootings | 4.2 every 100k arrests
Less-Lethal Force
Used More Force per Arrest than 31% of Depts
249 Incidents | 94 every 10k arrests | ▶+273%
Source: Police Department
Deadly Force
17 Killings by Police from 2013-21 | 1.5 every 10k arrests
^ More Killings by Police per Arrest than 53% of Depts
Source: Mapping Police Violence
Police Shootings Where Police Did Not Try Non-Deadly Force Before Shooting
77% of Shootings from 2016-21 (24/31)
Source: CA Department of Justice
How Often Police Said a Person had a Gun but No Gun was Found
22% of Guns "Perceived" were Never Found (4/18)
Source: CA Department of Justice
Deadly Force by Armed Status
12% Unarmed | 47% Did Not Allegedly Have a Gun
^ More Unarmed People Killed per Arrest than 51% of Depts
Police Violence by Race
Population of Sacramento County
Sacramento County Sheriff's Dept Demographics
People Arrested
People Killed
^ More Racial Disparities in Deadly Force than 80% of Depts
Source: Uniform Crime Report, Mapping Police Violence, LEMAS
Total civilian complaints
1,545 from 2016-21 | 2% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Complaints of Misconduct in Jail
416 Reported | 3% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Complaints of Police Discrimination
65 Reported | 0% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Alleged Crimes Committed by Police
106 Reported | 1% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Arrests By Year
99,332 Arrests Reported from 2013-2021
Arrests for Low Level Offenses
56,321 Arrests | 12 per 1k residents
^ Higher Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses than 47% of Depts
Percent of total arrests by type
All Arrests for Low Level Offenses ( 57% )
Drug Possession ( 10% )
Violent Crime ( 13% )
Homicides Unsolved
297 Homicides from 2013-21 | 101 Unsolved
^ Solved Fewer Homicides than 47% of Depts
Percent of Homicides Unsolved by Race
Homicides of Black Victims Unsolved ( 40% )
Homicides of Latinx Victims Unsolved ( 39% )
Homicides of White Victims Unsolved ( 25% )
Deaths in Jail
30 Deaths from 2013-19 | 16 per 1k Jail Population
Homicide Suicide Other Investigating
^ Higher Rate of Jail Deaths than 75% of Depts
Jail Incarceration rate
1,857 Avg Daily Jail Population | 3 per 1k residents
^ More than 40% of Sheriff's Depts
People Transferred to ICE from 2018-2021
156 people were transferred to ICE
Violent Crime Drug Offenses Other
People in Jail Without Being Convicted
80 % of People in Jail
California Sheriff's Department Scores
Rankings are based upon a 0 to 100 percentage scale. Departments with higher scores use less force, make fewer arrests for low level offenses, solve murder cases more often, hold officers more accountable and spend less on policing overall.
Overall Scores for Depts where We Have Obtained the Most Data.
Tap "show more" to see extended list
* An asterisk indicates this location did not publish enough data to evaluate. Click below to add data to the Scorecard.
About This Scorecard
This is the first nationwide evaluation of policing in the United States. It was built using data from state and federal databases, public records requests to local police departments, and media reports. While police data is never perfect, and there are additional indicators that still need to be tracked, the Police Scorecard is designed to provide insight into many important issues in policing.
Police Scorecard is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, learn more about our team here. If you have feedback, questions about the project, or need support with an advocacy campaign, contact our Founder, Samuel Sinyangwe.
Use this Scorecard to identify issues within police departments that require the most urgent interventions and hold officials accountable for implementing solutions. For example, cities with higher rates of low level arrests could benefit most from solutions that create alternatives to policing and arrest for these offenses. In cities where police make fewer arrests overall but use more force when making arrests, communities could benefit significantly from policies designed to hold police accountable for excessive force. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints.
Here's how to start pushing for change
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Contact Your County Sheriff, share your scorecard with them and urge them to enact policies to address the issues you've identified:
Advocacy Tip: This state has a Police Bill of Rights law. These laws make it harder to hold police accountable. Call state legislators and tell them to repeal this law.
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Look up your state and federal representatives below, then tell them to take action to hold police accountable in your community.
Join a team of researchers, students, data scientists, activists and organizers working to collect, analyze and use data for justice and accountability.
Create data visualizations and content that raises awareness about solutions to the issues identified by the data.
What's Next
Step 1: COMPLETED
Obtain data on 100 California cities. Refine methodology in response to feedback from communities, researchers and local officials.
Step 2: COMPLETED
Expand to every major law enforcement agency in America and include additional indicators such as police budgets and jail incarceration.
Step 3: IN PROGRESS
Inform data-driven solutions nationwide. Update as new federal, state and local data are collected. Track progress and hold cities accountable to results.