New tool spots US counties with unusual police lethal force

Scientists made a special new tool called the Anomaly Detector.

It looks at police officers across the United States.

The tool checks how often police use their weapons in every county.

It compares each county to what scientists expect for places like it.

Big cities are expected to have more police actions than small towns.

The tool finds places that are very different from what is expected.

That could mean police there act more often or less often than usual.

People might use this information to learn more about their community.

It does not say whether the police are good or bad.

It just helps people know where to look more closely.