The Future Of Police Reform

The massive uprising following the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020--by some estimates the largest protests in US history--thrust the argument to defund the police to the forefront of international politics. It also made The End of Policing a bestseller and Alex Vitale, its author, a leading figure in the urgent public discussion over police and racial justice. As the writer Rachel Kushner put it in an article called "Things I Can't Live Without", this book explains that "unfortunately, no increased diversity on police forces, nor body cameras, nor better training, has made any seeming difference" in reducing police killings and abuse. "We need to restructure our society and put resources into communities themselves, an argument Alex Vitale makes very persuasively." The problem, Vitale demonstrates, is policing itself-the dramatic expansion of the police role over the last forty years. Drawing on first-hand research from across the globe, The End of Policing describes how the implementation of alternatives to policing, like drug legalization, regulation, and harm reduction instead of the policing of drugs, has led to reductions in crime, spending, and injustice. This edition includes a new introduction that takes stock of the renewed movement to challenge police impunity and shows how we move forward, evaluating protest, policy, and the political situation.

The police service in England and Wales is facing major challenges in its financing, political oversight and reorganisation of its structures. Current economic conditions have created a wholly new environment whereby cost saving is permitting hitherto unthinkable changes in the style and means of delivery of policing services. In the context of these proposed changes Lord Stevens, formerly Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service was asked to chair an Independent Commission looking into the future of policing. The Commission has a wide ranging remit and the papers in this book offer up-to-date analysis of contemporary problems from the novel perspective of developing a reform agenda to assist the Commission. Bringing together contributions from both key academic thinkers and police professionals, this book discusses new policing paradigms, lays out a case for an evidence-based practice approach and draws attention to developing areas such as terrorism, public order and hate crime. Policing is too important to be left to politicians, as the health of a democracy may be judged by the relationship between the police and the public. The aim of this book is to question and present analyses of problems offer new ideas and propose realistically achievable solutions without being so timid as to preserve the status quo. It will be of interest to both academics and students in the fields of criminology and policing studies, as well as professionals in the policing service, NGOs and local authority organisations.

The first thorough study of the Justice Department’s pattern or practice program, examining how it works and how court-imposed consent decrees implement needed reforms American society grapples with an enduring crisis in policing which is inextricably intertwined with the nation’s deeply rooted racial issues. While there have been great strides in policing over the past five decades, the United States continues to wrestle with serious crime and strained relations between law enforcement and African American communities. In this comprehensive analysis, Samuel Walker, a leading figure in the study of criminal justice, focuses on the pivotal federal effort behind police reform—the US Justice Department’s pattern or practice program. Created by Congress in 1994, this program gives the Justice Department the authority to investigate police departments that display patterns of unconstitutional practices, initiate civil suits, and secure court-enforced consent decrees that mandate reform. Walker meticulously examines the reforms dictated by these consent decrees, delves into the challenges of their implementation, and evaluates the progress made by various departments in enhancing police services. Despite various obstacles, the program has proven successful. The Future of Police Reform also considers the broader societal, political, and legal issues that profoundly influence reform efforts, such as an entrenched police subculture hindering change, the formidable power of police unions, and a lack of full support from local political leaders. In conclusion, Walker celebrates reform efforts across the country and foresees a network of local and state centers of activity fostering continued optimism for the future of police reform in the US. A collective effort holds the promise of genuine and lasting change.

Policing in the United States is at a crossroads; decisions made at this juncture are crucial. With the emergence of evidence-based policing, police leaders can draw on research when making choices about how to police their communities. Who will design the path forward and what will be the new standards for policing? This book brings together two qualified groups to lead the discussion: academics and experienced police professionals. The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University recruited faculty with expertise in policing and police research. This volume draws on that expertise to examine 13 specific areas in policing. Each chapter presents an issue and provides background before reviewing the available research on potential solutions and recommending specific reform measures. Response essays written by a current or former police leader follow each chapter and reflect on the recommendations in the chapter. The 13 chapters and response essays present new thinking about the police, their challenges, and the reforms police agencies should consider adopting. Policy makers, practitioners, educators, researchers, students and anyone interested in the future of policing will find valuable information about: the benefits of adopting evidence-based policing; leading strategic crime-control efforts; instituting procedural justice to enhance police legitimacy; reducing use of force; combatting racially biased policing; establishing civilian oversight; implementing a body-worn camera program; creating sentinel event reviews; developing police-university collaborations; facilitating organizational justice in police departments; improving officer health and wellness; handling protests; and increasing the effectiveness of police responses to sexual assault.

This book tackles the contentious issue of policing in an age of controversy and uncertainty. It is a timely book written by police scholars — predominantly former practitioners from Europe, Australia and North America — who draw from their own research and operational experiences to illuminate key issues relating to police reform in the present day. While acknowledging some relevance of usual proposed models, such as problem-solving, evidence-based policing and procedural justice, the contributors provide an insider look at a variety of perspectives and approaches to police reform which have emerged in recent decades. It invites university students, criminologists, social scientists, police managers, forensic scientists to question and adapt their perspectives on a broad range of topics such as community policing, hate crime, Islamic radicalisation, neighborhood dynamics, situational policing, antidiscrimination and civil society, police ethics, performance measures, and advances in forensic science, technology, intelligence and more in an accessible and comprehensive manner.

Policing in the US and many western nations is in an era of crisis, facing extensive calls for reformation and change. This edited book outlines the major challenges and changes needed to achieve a more stable future for the policing profession and police organizations. The chapters come from innovative police leaders and officers as well as academics with subject matter expertise, to provide insight into how reform can be done with the police. It focusses on how leaders should understand and approach their role during times of instability and uncertainty. It starts with an examination of how policing reached this state of crisis and discusses some interviews conducted with police leaders, particularly chiefs as agents of change and reform. This is followed by chapters from several veteran police leaders and personnel describing some of the factors that brought policing to this critical time of change and reform, how has policing evolved in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and how that impacts the current environment, and some potential strategies to create meaningful change while considering unintended consequences. The following chapters from academics seek to define paths that policing can take toward needed changes that will increase legitimacy, trust, and equality of policing services. It speaks to students, academics and professionals interested in police organization and administration, police leadership, and contemporary issues in policing and criminal justice.

This book aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for a myriad of crime and mental health topics and issues in the African criminal justice system from a psycho-criminological perspective. Crime, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System in Africa: A Psycho-Criminological Perspective is an ideal primary text for courses in criminology, criminal justice, and forensic psychology, as well as asource of reference for practitioners who deal with offenders or victims. “For a long time, African historiography has been viewed and interpreted from Eurocentric perspectives. This book is a timely contribution towards infusing Afrocentric perspectives in African scholarship by indigenous scholars. The authors’ interdisciplinary topical approach, covering a gamut of topics ranging from African criminology, through mental health and psychology, to criminal justice systems, has lent a decolonizing voice toward African literary pursuit and thereby laid a solid foundation for further research by other scholars. I highly recommend it to readers, academic institutions and researchers on Africa.” – Emmanuel Onyeozili, Ph.D., Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, USA “This edited volume by an array of experts from West and Southern Africa has given a refreshing voice to psycho-criminological narratives in the continent. In a region of the world in which there is insufficient documentation of the patterns, determinants and outcomes of criminal behaviour, this book offers a culturally competent and contemporary flavour to an ancient discourse. Its focus on new areas of concern such as online dating scams, kidnapping and the mental health of officials in the criminal justice system compellingly captures the potential reader and gives good value for time. It is warmly recommended for its breadth of coverage, the authority of its claims and the multi-disciplinary outlook of its authors.” – Adegboyega Ogunwale, MBBS, FWACP, Consultant Psychiatrist, Forensic Unit, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Ogun State, Nigeria “This collection represents a significant step in the study of mental health, crime and criminal justice in sub-Saharan Africa. The breadth of topics covered is impressive, with each contribution based on methodologically-sound empirical analyses. It deserves to become a key reference for students, researchers and policy makers interested in suicide, drug use, violence, the work of prison officers, criminal investigations, and police-community interactions.” – Justice Tankebe, Ph.D., Lecturer, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK “Mental health and criminal justice issues are growing problems facing the world today. Questions about whether mental health affects crime or whether involvement in the criminal justice system affects an individual’s health have become part of national policy discussion. This nicely written book brings together eminent scholars and experts with extensive experience in their various fields to address these and other questions related to crime, mental health, and criminal justice in Africa. The editors did well to coordinate the efforts of the contributors into a valuable pierce. I highly recommend it for all who are interested in the nexus between crime, mental health, and criminal justice systems.” – Francis D. Boateng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, University of Mississippi, USA

The urgent need to professionalize Mexican police has been recognized since the early 1990s, but despite even the most well-intentioned promises from elected officials and police chiefs, few gains have been made in improving police integrity. Why have reform efforts in Mexico been largely unsuccessful? This book seeks to answer the question by focusing on Mexico's municipal police, which make up the largest percentage of the country's police forces. Indeed, organized crime presents a major obstacle to institutional change, with criminal groups killing hundreds of local police in recent years. Nonetheless, Daniel Sabet argues that the problems of Mexican policing are really problems of governance. He finds that reform has suffered from a number of policy design and implementation challenges. More importantly, the informal rules of Mexican politics have prevented the continuity of reform efforts across administrations, allowed patronage appointments to persist, and undermined anti-corruption efforts. Although many advances have been made in Mexican policing, weak horizontal and vertical accountability mechanisms have failed to create sufficient incentives for institutional change. Citizens may represent the best hope for counterbalancing the toxic effects of organized crime and poor governance, but the ambivalent relationship between citizens and their police must be overcome to break the vicious cycle of corruption and ineffectiveness.