Police reforms surge after months of racial justice protests
| New York; and Austin, Texas
Four months after the police killing of George Floyd 鈥� and as protests demanding law enforcement overhauls continue nationwide 鈥� police reforms have surged across the country with uncommon speed.听聽
While the depth and durability of the new policies are not yet proven, the scope of progress is wide. Since late May, states, counties, and cities have introduced a range of reform, including bans on chokeholds, increased body-camera use, and the end of 鈥渘o-knock鈥� search warrants.听
鈥�The [state] legislation that I鈥檝e seen come through in the intervening months since May has really been unprecedented鈥� in speed, expanse, and bipartisan support, says Amber Widgery, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Why We Wrote This
Protests against police brutality and racial inequality in the past four months have produced remarkable progress on law enforcement reform at state, county, and city levels.
She has tracked state law enforcement-related legislation nationwide since 2014 when Michael Brown was fatally shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Following that incident, she says state legislatures began to take active roles in policing oversight and accountability.
Most Americans, shows, support some degree of police reform. The movement鈥檚 demands are often encompassed 鈥� and blurred 鈥� by the rhetoric of 鈥渄efunding police.鈥� Whether that鈥檚 understood literally or as a gesture to the spirit of reform, what it mostly has meant in practice over the past four months is modest budget cuts, not literal abolition, The Associated Press .听 聽
It鈥檚 also unclear how much of the current wave of reforms will stick. Already officials are to defund the Police Department in Minneapolis, the site of Mr. Floyd鈥檚 killing May 25. And less than half of Americans (44%) think the protests will bring change for the better 鈥� though a large majority of Black Americans (71%) believe so, a June AP-NORC 蹿辞耻苍诲.听
鈥淭he recent protests have forced some politicians to make knee-jerk reactions and promise things that are not well thought out 鈥� such as defund the police,鈥� Geoffrey Alpert, professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, explained in an email to the Monitor.听
But, he added, one benefit of the protests has been to highlight the need for systemic change: 鈥淭he day of the 鈥榖ad apple鈥� explanation [for police violence] is gone.鈥�
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, agrees there鈥檚 been a shift.
鈥淎fter Ferguson, the focus was on reforming police. It was de-escalation and body-worn cameras and implicit bias training,鈥� says Mr. Wexler. 鈥淭his post-George Floyd moment we鈥檙e in, there鈥檚 almost a sense that reform didn鈥檛 work so we have to rethink policing completely. And that鈥檚 OK.鈥�
Whether, and how, new reforms are actually enforced are other questions. After all, the New York Police Department banned chokeholds 20 years before Eric Garner died, in 2014, when an officer subdued him that way.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why people talk about defund the police or abolish police,鈥� says Olugbenga Ajilore, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress. 鈥淏ecause we鈥檝e done legislation, but we still have these outcomes.鈥�
There鈥檚 also the question of how to measure the impact of police reforms. Mr. Wexler says successful policing depends on whom you ask 鈥� the community, or officers, or mayors. Fundamentally, law enforcement experts say, public safety is hard to maintain without public trust.
鈥淲ithout basic trust 鈥� or procedural justice 鈥� [reforms] are all compromised,鈥� says Mr. Alpert. 鈥淲e need to spend more time getting feedback from the community, having community members be part of the reform thinking and consideration.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a sampling of police reform efforts across the country over the past decade.
Camden, New Jersey: 鈥淪anctity of life鈥� focus
Faced with rampant crime and poor finances, Camden, New Jersey, dissolved its police department in 2012. A rebooted Camden County Police Department emerged the following year, though it still only patrols the city of Camden.
Amid calls from activists to address aggressive policing early on, the department developed a new use-of-force policy in 2015 that prioritized de-escalation.
鈥淭he core principle of that policy is sanctity of life,鈥� says Capt. Gabe Rodriguez, who, among others, was rehired from the old department. Excessive force complaints dropped from 65 in 2014 to three in 2019.
Compared with 67 homicides in 2012, there have been 17 this year, and overall crime has dropped. Mr. Rodriguez says the real measure of success for Camden鈥檚 community policing model is that more residents feel safe enough to enjoy being outside.
NJ Advance Media Force Report; FBI Uniform Crime Reports
Critics say the transition lacked transparency and community input from the start, and the state鈥檚 top court ruled the department鈥檚 restructuring in 2015. The treasurer of Camden鈥檚 NAACP chapter, Darnell Hardwick 鈥� who calls it a police union bust, not reform 鈥� says trust issues remain. And given the widespread use of , 鈥渋t鈥檚 like a police state.鈥�
Mr. Rodriguez says he welcomes frank discussions with the community, which is majority Hispanic and Black, and notes Camden police .听
Florida鈥檚 Volusia County: Rethinking police training
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood鈥檚 first six months on the job in 2017 saw six officer-involved police shootings. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 control what happens on the streets at 3 in the morning,鈥� he says. 鈥淎ll you can do is train, recruit, and hold your breath.鈥�
A trip to Scotland in 2015 to study de-escalation tactics used by Scottish police had inspired him to rethink policies and training. The Volusia County Sheriff鈥檚 Office requires 40 hours of crisis intervention training classes for new hires. And with guidance from the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit research and policy organization, the Florida force also implemented new use-of-force policies beginning in 2017 that emphasize de-escalation, communication, and 鈥渢he sanctity of human life,鈥� he adds.
The sheriff says these reforms have worked. Calls for service have remained relatively stable, while use-of-force incidents fell by almost half between 2017 and 2019, according to sheriff鈥檚 office data.
Volusia Sheriff's Office
However, African Americans 鈥� about 11% of the county鈥檚 population 鈥� have been arrested disproportionately more than their share of residents over the past three years; in 2019, they were involved in more than a quarter of documented use-of-force incidents, NBC .
The sheriff鈥檚 department plans on further reforms, including a that would pair mental health professionals with deputies to assist people in crisis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an excellent idea,鈥� says Volusia County-Daytona Beach NAACP President Cynthia Slater, who also supports the sheriff鈥檚 use-of-force reforms. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the 21st century, and we鈥檝e got to move law enforcement into the 21st century.鈥�
New York City: Police examine unconscious bias聽
It鈥檚 unclear how many , used to raise awareness of unconscious attitudes that could negatively impact others. But growing demand has outpaced research on its effectiveness.
Reportedly the first of its kind, a recent examined the impact of implicit bias training on the nation鈥檚 largest police department, the NYPD, since it mandated the training for its 36,000 officers in 2018. While NYPD鈥檚 sworn personnel demonstrated an increased understanding of implicit bias, researchers weren鈥檛 able to detect training effects on actual behavior.
It鈥檚 difficult to isolate the effect of a one-day training, given many other factors affecting officers鈥� choices on the street, says Robert E. Worden, lead author of the study and director of the John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety in Albany, New York.
And limited research has left another fundamental question unresolved. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not at all clear that the enforcement disparities that we commonly see in law enforcement are due even in part to implicit bias,鈥� he says.
Lois James, assistant professor at Washington State University鈥檚 college of nursing, is using body-camera footage to study the impact of implicit bias training on Sacramento Police Department personnel鈥檚 performance and behavior.
Robert E. Worden, Sarah J. McLean, Robin S. Engel, Hannah Cochran, Nicholas Corsaro, Danielle Reynolds, Cynthia J. Najdowski and Gabrielle T. Isaza, 2020. "The Impacts of Implicit Bias Awareness Training in the NYPD." IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy & John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety.
鈥淒epartments do actually invest a lot of time and money in implicit bias training, and it鈥檚 important to know whether it鈥檚 actually effective,鈥� she says.
An NYPD spokesperson said via email that the department embraced implicit bias training for 鈥渇urther building trust between officers and civilians.鈥� The force has also added ethics and de-escalation training for officers.
Colorado: Chokeholds banned, 鈥渜ualified immunity鈥� out聽
Colorado passed an expansive police reform bill in June, which includes a ban on chokeholds and orders local and state law enforcement to use body cameras.
And, Colorado鈥檚 new civil rights law is the first in the nation to prohibit law enforcement officers from using 鈥渜ualified immunity鈥� as a defense. Qualified immunity is a judicial doctrine that can shield public officials from litigation if they violate someone鈥檚 constitutional rights.
Eliminating qualified immunity could help restore confidence in law enforcement, says Jay Schweikert, policy analyst with the Cato Institute鈥檚 Project on Criminal Justice.
鈥淚f you want people to have a certain level of trust and respect for police officers, and fight back against this cops-are-the-bad-guys narrative, you must have meaningful accountability,鈥� says Mr. Schweikert, who is involved in a bipartisan coalition against the doctrine.
Colorado鈥檚 Fraternal Order of Police President Stephen Schulz says he supports efforts to increase transparency and accountability, but opposes the loss of the qualified immunity defense under state law.
鈥淲e walk into dangerous situations on a daily basis. We have to make split-second decisions, a lot of times to protect the innocent civilians or protect ourselves,鈥� says Mr. Schulz. 鈥淨ualified immunity was there to recognize that.鈥�
An officer acting in bad faith, says Mr. Schulz, isn鈥檛 鈥渟omebody that we want on the street side by side with us, or protecting our communities.鈥�
