To Demilitarize the Police, We Need To Change More Than Just Their Uniforms
The problem isn’t just that cops look like occupying soldiers, it’s that too many think and act like them.
The problem isn’t just that cops look like occupying soldiers, it’s that too many think and act like them.
A dispatch from the Black House Autonomous Zone
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Deep ranks of enforcers with expansive powers and wide-ranging responsibilities will always pose a risk to the public, no matter which level of government employs them.
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Police unions exist to protect cops at the expense of the public.
The legislation rolls back regulations that have been shielding bad police from accountability.
Interactions between the public and the police should be kept to a minimum.
Their illegal search was not recorded.
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Everybody is talking about changing law enforcement, but not all proposals are equally worthy—or serious.
Police strategies have changed dramatically in the past few decades—and not because of soaring crime. America's War on Drugs is a prime culprit.
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Cops have a long history of thinking fast food workers are out to get them.
The bill would incentivize police to ban chokeholds and create a national use-of-force database.
One need not believe every cop is a bigot to recognize that the problem goes beyond a few "bad apples."
It does not touch qualified immunity or police unions.
Every encounter with armed agents of the state has the potential to end tragically, which is a good reason to minimize such encounters.
"I have previously expressed my doubts about our qualified immunity jurisprudence," writes Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissent.
We need to remove all the ways that government deters people from seeking treatment.
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The family of George Floyd probably won't be able to successfully sue Derek Chauvin in civil court because of qualified immunity, but they will help pay for the killer cop's retirement.
Citing work from Reason, players and coaches from the NFL, NBA, and MLB are urging Congress to end qualified immunity.
If this is what cities are paying billions for, no wonder people are calling for defunding.
Leave people room to experiment with approaches to protecting life, liberty, and property.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R–Calif.) announced he will support the Ending Qualified Immunity Act.
If "defunding the police" means abolishing them completely, it's a bad idea. But there are ways to use cuts in funding to improve police incentives for the better.
It's a perverse kind of progress, but it's progress all the same.
“Officers don’t have the time to pull out law books and analyze the fine points of judicial precedent.”
After George Floyd’s death, the city will bring in outside advisers to recommend changes to make policing more transparent and accountable.
Early COVID lockdown effects show no significant increases in most crime. In most cases, there were drops.
With Trump opposed too, there's little hope that a serious police reform bill will get through Congress anytime soon.
The state boasts of blocking 754 illegal purchases, but it wrongly tagged 101,047 law-abiding people as prohibited. Any of them could have been targeted.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision is "a precedent-setting error of exceptional public importance," writes dissenting judge.
Federal spending on policing has quadrupled since the 1980s, while state and local spending has increased by about one-third.
Sometimes a "few bad apples" is systemic rot.
Union leaders show very little interest in considering collective bargaining’s role in protecting bad cops.
The foreign policy lesson in the struggle for police reform
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says they were scared people would drive too fast.
No amount of protesting is likely to reduce police brutality in the absence of structural reforms that increase accountability, competition, choice, and incentives.
The Democratic presidential candidate wants an extra $300 million in federal grants for cops.
The police aren't good at solving crime in general, regardless of the victim's race, ethnicity, or income. Making this about "privilege" actually undercuts the strength of the argument.
A New York State Judge has ruled that the twin crises of civic unrest and coronavirus justify holding people without charge beyond the normal 24-hour limit.
Real changes will require fewer laws and less violent enforcement.
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Why racial profiling is an important problem, why it's so difficult to address, and what can nonetheless be done about it.