Reform With a Purpose

As the country goes through intense moments of solidarity, the foundational principles of how WE as a nation landed in this position still blows me away. Obviously as a police office I went through the same training in the academy and Field Training programs just as every other officer has to do. Never have I heard any instructor or academy director condone illegal or senseless tactics that knowingly cause death. The actions of those officers in Minneapolis do not depict the mentality or character of every police officer around the country. Although, it is a tragedy that their action and inaction ultimately cost George Floyd his life. We must find a way to overcome this tragedy with solutions that can be proven and trusted to be sustainable. Policing is inherently controversial, and police work is extraordinary challenging. There are higher expectations, greater scrutiny, and more calls for accountability of the police in the twenty-first century than ever before (Brandl, 2019). Watching the internal war take place on American soil is not only disheartening but also damaging to those young officers who thought that this career path was for them. It should not have come to this but like every law enforcement leader I have spoken to, we are here now and must do something about it to bridge the gap.

Moving forward is not going to be easy as protest whether peaceful or not will be taking place amid politicians and other community leaders searching for the right words to say that remain neutral and unbiased to the average person. Although if broken down generally pick a side as being on the fence is not acceptable. As an African American male and police officer, I completely understand where the tension and distrust stems from just from watching several incidents around the country unfold via the news media and having worked through a few myself. The media tends to focus on negative incidents by highlighting the bad or questionable conduct of a few officers. Although there are certainly lessons to be learned from such incidents, these images and stories can provide an inaccurate overall picture of the police (Brandl, 2019). Each case is different but I believe that generally, they all settle into four vital categories that show change is more important now than ever before and we must take action regardless of our beliefs. Who does not want a better tomorrow for their kids, grand-kids, and other family or friends who will live through these times long after we have moved on in life. The four key areas are:

• Support
  • Improved training (Use of Force, diversity, racial profiling, deescalation)
  • Body cameras (mandated with grant funding available)
  • Programs that build relationships with the community and create dialogue
• Transparency
  • Policies and procedures
  • Civilian review boards
  • Make disciplinary action public record
• Barriers
  • Police Militarization (explain certain equipment and purpose)
  • Stop and Frisk, Search Warrants (Knock/No knock), Probable Cause
  • Racial disparities (Publish UCR and other data for the organization to the community)
• Communication
  • Community oriented policing
  • Accountability

In examining this list of four areas law enforcement leaders can focus on, none of them appear to be outside the norm. The double edge sword is showing this type of openness consistently with the community and not running to hide or give minimal information when tragedy strikes. Relationships are multifaceted and require an initiator which I strongly believe should be law enforcement and the receivers being the community as a whole. Support, transparency, lowering mitigation of barriers, and open communication can really go a long way in improving relationship between the police and community. Defunding law enforcement agencies is not the way to approach a true reform effort as it takes funding in order to get the organization in the best position to succeed and provide results for council members and commissioners to see. Although community wide reform and finding ways to fund other programs that place different cultures and ethnicity groups together in a room is an awesome idea as it starts the process but there is an abundance of opportunities before us right now as a nation that we must capitalize on.

Having a purpose for the reform process is going to make huge dividends for every community across the nation if navigated properly. Blindly going about it is not providing justice or peace for communities that are hurting and in need of immediate changes to the current system. Law enforcement leaders must not be offended by their practices possibly changing and view it as beneficial to the organization and community. President Trump recently signed an executive order back in January 2020 that most do no know exist to establish the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice – the first commission on law enforcement in half a century according to the United States Department of Justice website. In my opinion the commission is a great start although the items on the agenda do not address any of the issues related to the current state of policing. Hopefully President Trump and the members of the Commission go back and revisit this list to update it and provide some reform methods.

There will be some law enforcement officers who just do not agree with the change and will feel attacked and betrayed or even as if they are being treated like animals. Well guess what, in these difficult times we have buckle down like never before and push through it together. It is ok to be angry and hurt by how we are portrayed, but the calls still have be to answered and people still need want us around to protect and serve them. Being stubborn and used to the old way of doing things is a thing of the past, it’s time to make changes and move forward diligently together with the people we took a sworn oath to protect and serve. Reform must start with those dawning the badges as I would love to sit on any council or board constructed to help navigate us through these times.

Reference:

Brandl, S. G. (2019). Police in America. SAGE Publications, Incorporated. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=T_C9DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=police+reform+in+america&ots=1ekh-GVIrl&sig=wzRzi558VxcMd39CSE2PjoZ0AJE#v=onepage&q=police%20reform%20in%20america&f=false

https://www.justice.gov/ag/presidential-commission-law-enforcement-and-administration-justice