Reimagining Policing in America
In: Contexts / American Sociological Association: understanding people in their social worlds, Band 20, Heft 4, S. 8-13
ISSN: 1537-6052
Police killings have increased over 100% in the past two decades. Black people, along with American Indians and Latinx communities (and some Asian and Pacific Islander communities), are more likely to have police force used on them relative to whites. This article aims to provide policy recommendations that inform reforms toward police accountability, improved training, and a police culture that protects citizens. We focus on short-, medium-, and long-term solutions for reimagining law enforcement to reduce officer-involved shootings, racial disparities in use of force, mental health issues among officers, and problematic officers who rotten the tree of law enforcement. We focus acutely on the need to abolish qualified immunity with the longterm change of transforming police culture itself to better protect civilians and police who approach their jobs with ethical respect.