City Actions to Address Racism and Excessive Use of Police Force
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By James Bourey
February 19, 2021
Even to those of us baby boomers who were around when separate facilities for black and white folks were prevalent, it is hard to imagine a time when slavery was not only legal, but also a widely accepted practice. While we have made great strides from those reprehensible practices, we have so much work to do in order to achieve racial equality. One of the most heartening aspects of the recent demonstrations, driven by excessive use of force by police and biased treatment of Black Americans, is the broad spectrum of support for change.
Despite this strong call for action, there is no consensus on the necessary steps to achieve equality. While police abusive treatment has highlighted racial inequality, much more extensive systematic change must be made to erase discrimination, which goes well beyond policing. There will need to be a rigorous program of community engagement to attack the deep seated socio-economic disparities that prevail in our cities.
As difficult as this will be, we have widespread recognition that it is well past time for change. Additionally, professionals have identified actions and practices that give us an opportunity to be successful in turning this around. The leaders of cities and counties, along with knowledgeable professionals, can and must lead this effort and maintain a long-term commitment to change. These professionals include experts in police reform, the criminal justice system, education and job training as well as social services and community engagement.
There needs to be a partnership of city leaders and those professionals who can work with their communities to devise strategies to correct racial bias and socio-economic disparities. A comprehensive strategy needs to include the following elements:
- A broad-based community engagement program to address systemic racial bias.
- Criminal justice system reforms.
- Changes in the practices and procedures of police departments.
- A system of support actions from the social service system.
- Education and job training.
Some may argue that this should include a major effort to improve the physical conditions in the communities in which Blacks and other persons of color live. These community development activities should indeed continue. However, local governments, even aided by state and federal funding, have limited resources and the focus needs to be on giving everyone an opportunity to attain a socio-economic wellbeing which will enable them to obtain the necessities for a good life.
While we will never root out all discrimination, we can make a real difference in changing the hearts and minds of many people. To use a timely analogy, it is a bit like the concept of herd immunity in public health. During the novel coronavirus pandemic, we have learned that we need a large majority of people, hopefully through a vaccine, to be immune to the virus to overcome this dreadful disease. If we can get an overwhelming majority of people to reject racial bias, it will be a game changer.
There has been much work on strategies for criminal justice system reform, including the President’s Task Force of 21st Century Policing and the recent Presidential Commission of Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, which provide guidance for revamping police practices. The practice reforms need to include:
- Revamping the personnel selection process to screen out those that have a racial bias and hire people with the skills needed for a changed police force.
- Developing a standard for police entry level training programs to provide skills in community policing, de-escalation techniques and an appropriate use of force.
- Reforming the police disciplinary process to give police department management a better opportunity to eliminate officers that have employed an excessive use of force or demonstrated biased behavior.
- Revising field officer training to develop the necessary skill set for officers.
- Requiring certification of all police departments and ensuring they meet the standards of the Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation (CALEA).
- Reassessing the kinds of services and calls to which police respond, particularly mental health emergencies, and enhancing the training to equip officers in responding to people in crisis.
The social support services system needs to answer the call to assist in providing:
- Expanded affordable child care.
- Parenting skill development.
- Mentoring for youth.
- Mental health and drug treatment.
The bedrock of any program to give all an opportunity to be successful in our present socio-economic system is education and job training. Actions need to encompass the following:
- More funding for education.
- Expanded technical job training.
- Teaching of life skills, such as financial literacy, that will help everyone be successful living in our modern world.
While this is indeed an aggressive program for communities to address policing problems, systemic racism and socio-economic disparities, we have an unparalleled chance to turn around the plague of racism that has been with us for hundreds of years.
Author: James Bourey served local government for 37 years, including as a city and county manager and regional council executive director. He also worked as a consultant to local government for another six years. He is the author of numerous professional articles as well as the book, A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward; Tales of a City/County Manager
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City Actions to Address Racism and Excessive Use of Police Force
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By James Bourey
February 19, 2021
Even to those of us baby boomers who were around when separate facilities for black and white folks were prevalent, it is hard to imagine a time when slavery was not only legal, but also a widely accepted practice. While we have made great strides from those reprehensible practices, we have so much work to do in order to achieve racial equality. One of the most heartening aspects of the recent demonstrations, driven by excessive use of force by police and biased treatment of Black Americans, is the broad spectrum of support for change.
Despite this strong call for action, there is no consensus on the necessary steps to achieve equality. While police abusive treatment has highlighted racial inequality, much more extensive systematic change must be made to erase discrimination, which goes well beyond policing. There will need to be a rigorous program of community engagement to attack the deep seated socio-economic disparities that prevail in our cities.
As difficult as this will be, we have widespread recognition that it is well past time for change. Additionally, professionals have identified actions and practices that give us an opportunity to be successful in turning this around. The leaders of cities and counties, along with knowledgeable professionals, can and must lead this effort and maintain a long-term commitment to change. These professionals include experts in police reform, the criminal justice system, education and job training as well as social services and community engagement.
There needs to be a partnership of city leaders and those professionals who can work with their communities to devise strategies to correct racial bias and socio-economic disparities. A comprehensive strategy needs to include the following elements:
Some may argue that this should include a major effort to improve the physical conditions in the communities in which Blacks and other persons of color live. These community development activities should indeed continue. However, local governments, even aided by state and federal funding, have limited resources and the focus needs to be on giving everyone an opportunity to attain a socio-economic wellbeing which will enable them to obtain the necessities for a good life.
While we will never root out all discrimination, we can make a real difference in changing the hearts and minds of many people. To use a timely analogy, it is a bit like the concept of herd immunity in public health. During the novel coronavirus pandemic, we have learned that we need a large majority of people, hopefully through a vaccine, to be immune to the virus to overcome this dreadful disease. If we can get an overwhelming majority of people to reject racial bias, it will be a game changer.
There has been much work on strategies for criminal justice system reform, including the President’s Task Force of 21st Century Policing and the recent Presidential Commission of Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, which provide guidance for revamping police practices. The practice reforms need to include:
The social support services system needs to answer the call to assist in providing:
The bedrock of any program to give all an opportunity to be successful in our present socio-economic system is education and job training. Actions need to encompass the following:
While this is indeed an aggressive program for communities to address policing problems, systemic racism and socio-economic disparities, we have an unparalleled chance to turn around the plague of racism that has been with us for hundreds of years.
Author: James Bourey served local government for 37 years, including as a city and county manager and regional council executive director. He also worked as a consultant to local government for another six years. He is the author of numerous professional articles as well as the book, A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward; Tales of a City/County Manager
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