Police Reform in the United States at the Federal Level

The federal government reforms are reforms brought about by legislation at the federal level. Budget reforms, criminal justice reforms, and a lot more work on creating a harmonious, cooperative society.

Establishing Consent Decrees

A consent decree is a federal court order that suggests the police departments make changes in policies or procedures. It is enforced by using the court monitor that supervises all affected departments.

This is only used for departments that are unable to handle their cases of misconduct. Goh (202) analyzed over 962 police agencies between 2000 and 2016 and found that the consent decree itself is useless, but the surveillance of court monitors and investigations does decrease the number of killings. Goh also noted that these reforms change depending on the police department they are implemented in.

Alpert et al. (2017) also saw that once the consent decree came to an end, the police departments would lack accountability for their actions.

Demilitarizing the Police

Due to the Federal 1033 program, police forces in the US have access to military-grade weapons. Between 2006 and 2014, the US Department of Defense supplied military-grade weapons and equipment worth $1.5 billion to local police departments.

By 2014, 80% of counties in the United States had received military equipment. And the program to stop this supply of military equipment to the police is called “Demilitarization of the Police.”

Lowande (2020) noted that recalling weapons obtained through the 1033 program did not impact the officers safety; on the contrary, the police have been more brutal due to the military-grade weapons. The militarization seems to have a psychological impact on the officers, making them think lethal force is an acceptable response.

Defunding or Reallocating Police Funds

Defunding the police has been the most popular slogan during the “Black Lives Matter” protests. There are two camps in this debate:

• People who want to reallocate the police fund to other social service agencies
• People who want to completely defund the police.

According to inflation-adjusted data collected by The Urban Institute between 1977 and 2019, state and local governments have increased spending from $44 billion to $123 billion on the police budget, an increase of approximately 179%. The New York Council approved $1 billion for the NYPD in 2020 alone.

Camden, New Jersey, dismantled its entire police department, built it back up with a “community-focused approach,” and required the police officers to take a psychological evaluation before rejoining. But in 2021, news outlets report a huge jump in the city’s police budget.

While the effect defunding will have is yet to be seen, researchers suggest considering a few factors before defunding, such as reallocating the money to mental and physical in the United States

Police reform in the United States is a much-debated issue that is known to evoke the sentiments of the masses. Many incidents regarding the excessive use of violence by the police in the United States have resulted in a restrained relationship between the citizens and the police force of the country. Incidents such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s killings by the police force witnessed a global-level protest against police brutality and led to legislators in 31 states proposing over 400 police reforms.

Some suggestions were made regarding police forces training in human interaction skills, while others suggested they should be completely defunded. Moreover, a section of people wanted to abolish traditional law enforcement.

Read below this comprehensive article to learn about Police Reform in the United States, including reforms at individual, state, and federal levels in depth.