What is Police Reform/Amendment?
Police reform comprises measures that federal, state, and local governments can implement to address imperfections in the enforcement system and improve our institutions. The first police reform movement took place in the early 1900s after the era of political machines.
August Vollmer was the first police chief of Berkeley, California, and a leading figure in the development of the field of criminal justice in the United States in the early 20th century. Furthermore, he has been described as “the father of modern policing.”
Officer amendment in the United States is an ongoing process that seeks to reform systems of law enforcement throughout the nation. The most basic reform efforts target how individual officers engage with the public. Procedural justice refers to the quality of decision-making procedures and fairness in the way individuals are treated by police.
The Ultimate Goal
Many goals of the police reform movement center on police accountability. It includes law enforcement policies and officer discretion to guide community interactions. Ultimately, the goal is to make police violence less frequent, while making laws more efficient and fair for all races, colors, and genders.
As of 2022, legislatures considered more than 4,500 police reform bills. In that time, at least 25 states had enacted legislation limiting police conduct, including neck restraints and excessive force. Police reform aims to transform the values, culture, policies, and practices of enforcement organizations so that officers can perform their duties with respect for democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law.
Police amendments are necessary to be created, or adapted, to meet changing security needs as well as the expectations of the communities they serve. Officer amendments that focus outside the police organization usually affect police strategies, roles, functions, management, supervision, and control, or the legal framework.
Police amendments also aims to improve how the officers interact with other parts of the security sector, such as the courts, departments of corrections, or executive, parliamentary or independent authorities with management or oversight responsibilities.
Types of Police Amendments
Police brutality is a systemic issue in the U.S. Multiple ways exist to address this vast problem. Various suggested reforms range from defunding the police to instituting training initiatives.
Training initiatives are one potential method of police reform. Having programs or seminars to educate or remind officers about different techniques, cultures, etc. could help save lives.
Policy changes are another way to reduce police brutality and killings. This includes passing legislation banning the use of no-knock search warrants, chokeholds, and other “rights violating” maneuvers.
The practice of police militarization in the U.S. began decades ago. It involves the federal government making military weapons available to state and local police departments.
Cases of Police Force Misconduct
In 2022, officers in the U.S. killed people in 355 out of 365 days. On a given day, there was a 97.26 percent chance officers would kill at least one person. Officers kill approximately 1,000 people in the U.S. each year. Additionally, the Chicago Police Department kills Black people at a rate of 8.6 per million versus white people at 0.3 per million.
Furthermore, officers in the U.S. kill people at least three times more than its Canadian counterparts and at least 60 times more than those in England and Wales. In the first 24 days of 2015, U.S. officers killed more people than in England and Wales, than they had during the previous 24 years.
Rising Statistics
Civilian killings by police are steadily rising.
- In 2022, 1,096 killings were reported.
- Before that, in 2021, 1,055 killings were documented.
- With 2020 having 1,021 killings.
- In 2019, there were 1,004 killings reported.
- Furthermore, in 2018, 996 killings were documented.
- And in 2017 there were 987 killings reported.
Raising Awareness
High-profile police killings include the following victims:
- Daunte Wright.
- George Floyd.
- Eric Garner.
- Breonna Taylor.
- Jordan Edwards.
- Tamir Rice.
- And Fanta Bility.
Breonna Taylor’s death triggered legislation surrounding “no-knock” search warrants, with 14 states passing laws regulating these warrants.
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is the federal act that grants power to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to subpoena police departments to investigate patterns of bias and misconduct.
Since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, every state has introduced legislation regarding police reform and excessive force. More than 30 states have passed 140 oversight and reform laws on local police since Floyd’s killing.
By Alana Wilson
Police Brutality Center – What Is Police Reform? by Richard Meadow
Brennan Center For Justice – State Policing Reforms Since George Floyd’s Murder by Ram Subramanian & Leily Arzy
Wikipedia – Police reform in the United States by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Top and Feature Courtesy Of Victoria Pickering C00 Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Insert Image Courtesy Of Thomas Hawk C00 Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
