Meaningful Police Reform

In 2020, it’s become pretty clear to many people that police departments across the country, as they’ve been operating for the past 30+ years, have significant problems and these problems cannot simply be attributed to “a few bad apples.” The problems we have are endemic and systemic, including racist policies regarding “The War on Drugs” enforcement (& to be fair, the problems extend through all levels of criminal justice, not just police).

I’ve been racking my brains for how to approach police reform in a way that is meaningful without resorting to “Defund” or “Abolish” the police ideas, which I think are politically infeasible (too little public support) and, moreover, would be pointless to raise to police leadership.

The police are, to some extent, agents of chaos (see my last post), with common use of excessive: force, arrests, stops, seizures, escalation of conflict; most often focused on racial minorities & vulnerable populations. This is true despite the prevalence of well-meaning individuals (aka “good people”) within the police force.

How to transform the police into superheroes for good (in the immediate future)? Here’s my outline (and prototype of suggestions that could be shared with city/state and police leadership):

• Use police discretionary power for good:
  • Respect the 4th amendment (of US Constitution) as originally intended:
    1. Never “stop & frisk” anyone; just abolish this practice. Searching a person should be based on specific criminal investigation or imminent risk of violence, never on skin color, clothing choices, attitude, location or other arbitrary conditions.
    2. Never “ask” for search outside of specific criminal investigation or imminent risk of violence. Police “asking” often comes across as command, which gives people no reasonable option to refuse.
    3. Never “seize” property which is not directly part of criminal investigation. This kind of “loot” naturally leads to bad behavior, including false arrests. Note: this should not prevent “freezing” of assets for rich suspects (who might be a flight risk), but even those assets should not be seized unless part of criminal investigation or as penalty assigned based on conviction.
    4. Abolish no-knock warrants, absolutely. If criminal evidence is so minimal that it could be disposed of in the short duration of a knock and through-door police identification (e.g., small amount of drugs), then it’s not worth violating civil liberty over.
    5. No 4th amendment exception for drug crimes. Per 14th amendment section 1; all citizens are guaranteed equal protection under the law, so there must not be any “exceptions” to citizen’s rights (per 4th amendment) in regard to drug crimes versus other crimes.
  • De-prioritize drug crimes; despite the propaganda of “The War on Drugs,” illegal drugs are primarily an individual liberty or mental health issue and never should’ve been criminalized.
    1. While police are tasked with enforcing laws, there are far too many people routinely violating laws for limited police resources to address the entirety of criminal activity, so they can & should prioritize their time on the crimes which do the most harm to the community, starting with violent crime, then property or financial crimes, then traffic violations, then other stuff (including non-violent, non-theft drug crimes as last & least important).
    2. In Massachusetts, marijuana was decriminalized in 2008 and all forms of marijuana legalized for adult-use in 2016. The police should not be wasting any time on marijuana possession (with or without intent to sell) in 2020 and beyond; it should be treated just like the other major legal drug, alcohol.

• Humanize the public; treat all with respect and compassion. Police and the public belong to the same human race.
  • De-escalation as the primary response. Police have to deal with many different types of situations; but in all situations, de-escalation must be the first response. Police officers should strive for calmness & clarity.
    1. Matching/escalating with force must be the rare exception, and only in case of actual or imminent violence (per verbal or physical threat). Note: the color of one’s skin, clothing or location must never be regarded as “imminent violence”; that wrong thinking is why we have had so many unarmed black people killed by police.
    2. Never use lethal force on a fleeing suspect, unless that suspect is armed and presents a danger to others.
    3. Communicate clearly: during any stop, search, questioning, arrest, always inform people of what is happening and why (e.g., why being arrested). Mystery inspires fear and erratic behavior, which is not good for suspects nor police, especially given the history of police violence.
    4. Do not respond to peaceful protest with violence of any kind (not batons, not toxic chemicals). If protestors must be cleared, police should use slow-moving vehicles and/or police shields to push protestors out of an area. Never chase, attack, arrest fleeing protestors.
  • Build community trust.
    1. Police training needs to be clear that the public are not the enemy, they are not sheep, they are not wolves, they are human beings, with a complex mix of good and bad traits, just like members of the police. Of course, the police need special training and powers, but those powers should never extend to dehumanization of members of the public. Even suspected or convicted criminals are human beings.
    2. Regular communication with members of the community, such as monthly community policing meetings.
    3. A significant proportion of police need to live in the city they work in (at least 50%) and ideally, some percentage of officers live in the neighborhoods that they’re assigned to patrol/protect.
    4. Demilitarize – “peace officers” should have no need of offensive military gear or vehicles (if there’s ever such a need, that’s what the national guard is for). Military-esque uniforms, vehicles and menacing attitudes are not needed either.

Thanks for reading! References:

• The New Jim Crow: Colorblindness in the Age of Mass Incarceration” by Michelle Alexander (I highly recommend this meticulously researched and well-organized book on institutional racism in the criminal justice system).
• How Law Enforcement Taught Me To Dehumanize | That Dang Dad
• Lies I Told As A Cop | That Dang Dad
• Law Enforcement Action Partnership: Recommendations to Transform Policing (June, 2020 – FYI, I like these recommendations, but they contain too many carve-outs, so might become useless as currently worded).
• Chart: Black people 4X more likely to be arrested for marijuana in MA from 2010-2018.
• The 4th amendment of US Constitution: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
• The 14th amendment section 1 is also relevant, although it’s somewhat useless when “due process of law” allows for unlimited discretion by police and prosecutors (to do whatever they want), without any checks or balances. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”