Where does U.S. policing go from here?
Policing in the United States is at a crossroads. Landmark protests have shown the need to change the relationship between police and minority communities to one of mutual understanding and respect. Yet the pressures of crime and public safety often create little space for fresh thinking or reform. Here we look at how the debate is evolving and where cities, police departments, and activists are searching for new ways forward.
Why Albuquerque鈥檚 latest experiment in policing doesn鈥檛 involve officersAlbuquerque, New Mexico, sends out mental health specialists to deal with nonviolent 911 calls, freeing up police to handle other emergencies.
鈥楻efund鈥� the police? With crime high, debate rises in Maryland.The rhetoric about police funding can slip into extremes. But as the state of Maryland shows, there鈥檚 more agreement than polarizing terms suggest.聽
To build trust, Racine police moved into the neighborhoodRacine鈥檚 community policing model, pioneered in the 1990s, isn鈥檛 a fast fix 鈥� it takes time, commitment, and investment.
Q&A: Sen. Tim Scott, GOP point person on police reformScott, who has faced police discrimination even on Capitol Hill, has been working for months with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker toward a Senate bill.
What happens when protesters take over for the police?Protesters are increasingly creating autonomous zones without police. But the line between citizens鈥� rights and law and order is hard to draw.
In push for police reform, small steps no longer enoughPolice reform used to be about small steps. But in the year since the murder of George Floyd, it is reconsidering the nature of policing itself.聽
Police reform: Why it鈥檚 so tough to get 鈥� and keep 鈥� the right chiefPolice reform can sometimes depend on getting the right police chief. But cities might be churning through them too quickly to create real change.
In Atlanta, a glimpse of why 鈥榙efund the police鈥� has falteredThe 鈥渄efund the police鈥� movement had unprecedented momentum last summer. But Atlanta is a window into a mounting backlash.
On police reform, US can learn from its own historyPolice reform has lost momentum whenever public safety becomes a major public issue. That puts a spotlight on today鈥檚 events.
