What should be done about America’s policing problem?
Driven by nationwide protests, calls are growing to boost accountability and oversight of US law enforcement.
On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at 19:30 GMT:
Reform, defund, or dismantle? The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last month is raising big questions about how to improve law enforcement in the United States.
Public support for police reform has been growing in recent years, but meaningful change has proved elusive – and what that change would look like remains up for debate.
Amid nationwide protests, many top officials agree that at the very least, police accountability and oversight must increase. But some community leaders are pushing for more drastic changes, including reducing police budgets and redefining the role of law enforcement.
In Floyd’s Minneapolis for example, the city council has voted to disband the police department in favour of a more community-oriented agency “that actually keeps us safe”, President Lisa Bender said this week. However, critics argue that defunding law enforcement could lead to more crime, not less.
In this episode, we ask: What should be done about the US’s policing problem? Join the conversation.
On this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Simone Weichselbaum, @SimoneJWei
National Law Enforcement Reporter, The Marshall Project
themarshallproject.org
Hassan Aden
Former Chief of Police, Greenville, North Carolina
theadengroup.com
Reina Sultan, @SultanReina
Artist and organiser
8toabolition.com
Read more:
US Congress, Trump contest police reforms after protests – Al Jazeera
Mapping US Police Killings of African Americans – Al Jazeera
Calls to reform, defund, dismantle and abolish the police, explained – NBC
Portrait Of Police Reform: How Camden, New Jersey Rebuilt Its Police Department – WBUR