Daily report on disparities in Norman policing data named finalist for Pinnacle diversity coverage of year

Larla Turner — longtime Norman resident, mother and advocate for racial justice — sits on a bench in Rotary Park, a place she frequented as a child. Turner reminisced about her parents being able to call her home for dinner from their backyard. Jana Hayes/The Daily

An in-depth OU Daily report on disparities in Norman policing data was named on Thursday as one of five finalists for best diversity coverage of the year in the College Media Association’s Pinnacle Awards.

The piece, written by Jana Hayes, analyzed publicly available Norman Police Department data from 2016-19 and found that Black people in Norman are, according to per capita rates, roughly three times more likely to be contacted, arrested or have force used against them by police than white residents. These calculations place Norman’s Black residents at more risk than Black Americans nationwide, who are twice as likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, according to per capita rates from FBI and Census data from 2015-2019.

The other finalists were from Our America at Cal State Fullerton, the Indiana Daily Student, Kent State’s KentWired and The Shorthorn at Texas-Arlington.

Hayes graduated in May and now is reporting full-time for The Oklahoman.