Policing

The first version of policing in the U.S. came with the early settlers. "Able-bodied" men would donate their time as night watchmen to protect their towns. The early 1800s brought the introduction of day watchmen to bigger cities. Over time, these watchmen in combination provided 24-hour monitoring for their cities. Throughout the 1800s and into the early 1900s, the foundations of policing as we know it today took form.^[iii] The call for professionalism of officers along with the introduction of patrol cars and telephones shifted police from watchmen walking the neighborhood to law enforcers who responded to calls.^[iv] That change in patrolling created a divide between officers and the community that came to a head alongside social and political turmoil in the 1960s.^[v] This period of unrest was exemplified by key events including riots in St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Detroit, and major court cases like Miranda v. Arizona decided in 1966.^[vi] Each decade has brought its own unrest and accompanying wave of reforms and attempts to remedy the tension between citizens and officers. Over the last decade, incidents such as the death of Michael Brown in Missouri, George Floyd in Minnesota, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky have sparked another call for reform. These reforms typically fall into one of three areas: training of officers, use of force, and/or the accountability of police officers.

A universal definition of use of force has not been adopted, so across jurisdictions the exact scope differs. However, the International Association of Chiefs of Police has defined it as "the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject."^[xvi] The amount of force used should be only enough necessary to mitigate and protect and ranges from simply an officer's presence to lethal force.

The increase in traditional and social media coverage surrounding policing and use of force has also put a spotlight on accountability, which comes in two forms for policing. Department or agency-level accountability means the performance of the department regarding controlling crime while providing services to the public.^[xxix] Individual-level accountability encompasses the actual conduct of the officer.^[xxx] The latter has been the focus of many reforms in recent years. One method used to increase accountability is body cameras worn by the officers. The number of law enforcement agencies using body cameras is estimated to have doubled since 2013, with six states adding mandates on the use of body cameras in the last year.^[xxxi] Most officers favor the use of body cameras, and research has found sufficient evidence that cameras reduced civilian complaints against law enforcement but produced mixed results in reducing arrests, traffic stops, and use of force.^[xxxii]

Another area of both concern and reform when it comes to accountability revolves around discipline. The disciplinary process has historically been handled by the department’s internal affairs team and faced criticism for being inconsistent and lengthy, which causes mistrust among community members and tension among officers.^[xxxiii] Police unions also play a part by providing an arbitration process for officers to appeal any disciplinary action, which can result in the reinstatement of officers released for misconduct.^[xxxiv]

Another factor in police accountability is immunity, which, on the department level, is referred to as municipal immunity and protects the officer's municipal employer from civil liability. The other branch of immunity and more commonly known term is qualified immunity, which protects officers from liability in lawsuits unless there has been a clear violation of the law.^[xxxv] This immunity can be granted by a two-prong analysis by the court: (1) whether the facts of the case establish a constitutional violation, and (2) if so, whether the constitutional right was “clearly established” at the time of the incident.^[xxxvi] Those in favor of qualified immunity believe it is essential in order for officers to do their job effectively, while those opposed believe it causes accountability issues.^[xxxvii]

THE SOCIAL CONVERSATION ON POLICING

While use of force, accountability, and training are the largest areas of focus and reform right now, several others have been making news as well. There has been a large movement for "defunding" the police. The movement seeks to reallocate funds from policing to other agencies such as social services and mental health departments. Despite the heavy news coverage on it, a survey found that, while the public is dissatisfied with police currently, most of the public favors keeping police budgets the same or increasing them rather than cutting.^[xxxviii] Another topic of discussion has been no knock warrants, particularly since Breonna Taylor's death, which allow officers to enter a house without any notice. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously upheld "quick-knock" warrants allowing an officer to enter after 15 to 20 seconds, but now legislation is being raised and passed to eliminate these warrants to create more accountability and trust between the officers and community.^[xxxix] On the topic of building trust, one method sought to repair relationships between the public and police is community policing. This is a tactic that focuses on community partnerships to problem solve and address public safety concerns.^[xl] Research has shown that community policing enhances trust and increases willingness to cooperate.

Policing is actively undergoing reform, mostly driven by concerns regarding use of force, training, and accountability. Recent legislative sessions have seen a large focus on police reform with thousands of bills introduced and passed. These legislative efforts call for the expansion of technology and training for officers and call out the need for more transparency overall. In 2020, nearly half of all states passed legislation eliminating or limiting the use of neck restraints, and 15 states called for the examination of use of force standards.^[xli] These changes support research that departments with more restrictive use of force standards have fewer incidents of police use of lethal force and assault, injury, or death to officers.^[xlii] Concerns about discipline have also been the center of several reforms in recent years with 11 states giving state officials the right to investigate officer misconduct claims. In addition, five states have given attorneys general the ability to investigate departmental policies and practices, and four states have limited qualified immunity.^[xliii] Thousands of bills have been introduced in recent years across all 50 states focused on training, use of force, or accountability, sparking momentum that continues to grow and offer opportunities for a more restorative approach to policing.^[xliv]

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