It was the second day of Advanced Mathematical and Statistics class. The class started off with Gary giving us a brief idea about the geographical structure of the United States. He drew a flowchart starting with the USA and that followed by states and counties. He pointed out the differences in the sizes of the counties. On one side of the country, there were noticeably larger counties, while the rest of the country had the usual, more regular-sized counties.

After giving us a brief but insightful overview of county sizes and their geographical implications, Gary shifted back to the fatal police shooting dataset where students were asked to come up with new and interesting questions and insights made up from analyzing the dataset.

Few questions that I have in my mind based on the analysis are:

• Is there any difference in the outcomes of fatal police shootings when the body cameras are in use versus when they are not?

– This focuses on whether body cameras affect the legal or public consequences for officers involved in shootings.

• What are the most common circumstances leading to fatal police shootings?

–  For example, were the shootings tied to a specific crime, resisting arrest or mental illness issues?

• How do fatal police shootings vary by urban vs. rural areas?

– Are there more shootings in densely populated urban areas or in rural areas with smaller police departments?

 

Thank you!!