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Regarding Recent Events and Solutions
5 years ago
Hi, folks. I've kept relatively quiet on here regarding the current issues. Regarding the recent protests, what happened to George Floyd is obviously a miscarriage of justice. Watching the protests and seeing everything play out has been both stressful and awe-inspiring. It has been stressful because, based upon my knowledge of history, I thought these protests would go badly for the people supporting them and might have allowed Trump a second term. They are awe-inspiring because, for the first time in my memory, white people are actually supporting police reforms en masse.
One of the ways that I deal with stress is trying to find solutions to problems. These protests are pointless unless genuine and durable reform takes place. Some of you may know that I work in criminal defense, so I do have some expertise on the subject.
First, I believe that communities should look to Camden, NJ for inspiration on how to deal with their police departments. Camden had an extremely high rate of violent crime and police complaints. After their reforms, both the crime and police complaint numbers were slashed. Camden essentially began by disbanding their police force and hiring a new chief of police to build a new force from the ground up. De-escalation training was prioritized and use of force standards were put in place that meant that officers could very easily be fired if they used force incorrectly. Officers patrolled the same areas, and when a new officer began working an area, they would go door-to-door and introduce themselves to the community. This has allowed the police to integrate into the community so well that when the protests began, the police were *invited* by community organizers to protest alongside them.
Second, if you are not familiar, I would encourage you to look at Campaign Zero. They propose a ten-point plan that is also aimed at general criminal justice reform. All of the reforms they propose are evidence-based and tested. If you want to know more about Campaign Zero, check out https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ .
I think that, moving forward, it is important to be clear about what change we want to see. It will be all too easy for mayors and police chiefs to point at symbolic reforms that do little to change the culture of police violence that has become entrenched in American society.
One of the ways that I deal with stress is trying to find solutions to problems. These protests are pointless unless genuine and durable reform takes place. Some of you may know that I work in criminal defense, so I do have some expertise on the subject.
First, I believe that communities should look to Camden, NJ for inspiration on how to deal with their police departments. Camden had an extremely high rate of violent crime and police complaints. After their reforms, both the crime and police complaint numbers were slashed. Camden essentially began by disbanding their police force and hiring a new chief of police to build a new force from the ground up. De-escalation training was prioritized and use of force standards were put in place that meant that officers could very easily be fired if they used force incorrectly. Officers patrolled the same areas, and when a new officer began working an area, they would go door-to-door and introduce themselves to the community. This has allowed the police to integrate into the community so well that when the protests began, the police were *invited* by community organizers to protest alongside them.
Second, if you are not familiar, I would encourage you to look at Campaign Zero. They propose a ten-point plan that is also aimed at general criminal justice reform. All of the reforms they propose are evidence-based and tested. If you want to know more about Campaign Zero, check out https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ .
I think that, moving forward, it is important to be clear about what change we want to see. It will be all too easy for mayors and police chiefs to point at symbolic reforms that do little to change the culture of police violence that has become entrenched in American society.
There were attempts at reforms in the 60's and 70's, which worked for a little while until they didn't. If we adopt half-measures, we're just kicking the can down the road - the only way to permanently reduce the influence of police in our community is to defund them and outsource the vast majority of their duties to professionals better equipped to handle them.