Use of Force: Taking Policing to a Higher Standard, 30 Guiding Principles

Use of Force: Taking Policing to a Higher Standard, 30 Guiding Principles (March 2016). The report presents 30 Guiding Principles on Use of Force that are designed to provide officers with guidance and options, and to reduce unnecessary uses of force in situations that do not involve suspects armed with firearms. . . . Hundreds of police professionals at all … Read More

Baltimore: Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department. DOJ Civil Rights Division, 2016

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Today, we announce the outcome of the Department of Justice’s investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD). 1 After engaging in a thorough investigation, initiated at the request of the City of Baltimore and BPD, the Department of Justice concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates … Read More

Report: The Science of Justice – Race, Arrests, and Police Use of Force – Center for Policing Equity

Analyses of 12 law enforcement departments from geographically and demographically diverse locations revealed that racial disparities in police use of force persist even when controlling for racial distribution of local arrest rates.  – Center for Policing Equity Executive Summary Despite the importance of understanding how race intersects with police use of force, little research has used police administrative data to … Read More

Report: This Is Not Your Grandparents’ Prejudice: The Implications of the Modern Science of Bias for Police Training – Lorie Fridell

Bias starts with our automatic tendency to categorize individuals. We categorize individuals and objects to make sense of the world, which includes categorizing people we don’t know according to group membership. We then attribute to these individuals the stereotypes associated with their group. This does not require animus; it requires only knowledge of the stereotype. Implicit bias, like explicit bias, … Read More

Police Accountability Task Force: Recommendations for Reform of the Chicago Police Department

Excerpts – The full report is available at https://chicagopatf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PATF_Final_Report_4_13_16-1.pdf “The police need to know who they work for – the community. The authority that they have belongs to the people.”1 The Police Accountability Task Force arose amidst a significant and historic public outcry. The outcry brought people into the streets, on social media and on other venues to say in a … Read More

President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy. It is key to the stability of our communities, the integrity of our criminal justice system, and the safe and effective delivery of policing services.

Strengthening the Relationship between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color

Report: Strengthening the Relationship between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color – COPS, 2014 Two competing and destructive narratives that have emerged between police and communities of color: Many in the African-American community feel that most cops are dishonest and out to get them. . . . On the other hand, the cops will say the community is complicit, that … Read More