Comprehensive Police Reform ? More Than Policing ! 1
By Dr . Robert R . Friedmann Founding Director , Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange ( GILEE ) Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice Andrew Young School of Policy Studies , Georgia State University
Recent anti-police protests have brought to the forefront calls and demands for changes in policing . Some demand abolishing the police , defunding the police , redirecting its budget to social services , eliminating over-policing , or going “ beyond policing .” Others demand changing “ police culture ,” improving training , and instituting better supervision . Lists of demands have been posted on the web , submitted as petitions , circulated among a coalition of ad-hoc groups , and appeared on signs carried in numerous protests around the country . These demands originate from a mixture of anger , sense of vulnerability , accumulation of grievances , egregious and repeated police brutality , and emotions that are supported by large segments of the community and have become an integral part of a growing social movement .
Yet , these terms lack a definition , an operational meaning and a cogent measurable approach , that clearly outlines what the problem is , what the solution intends to achieve , how will it do so , and how will it be measured . There is also a lack of consistency in the demands : does defunding mean abolishing police departments , fully shutting them down ? That demand is out there . Does it mean redirection of budgets ? On June 30th , New York ’ s Mayor announced a $ 1 billion reduc-tion in NYPD ’ s budget comprised of savings and shifting responsibilities to other agencies . On July 1st , the Los Angeles City Council slashed $ 150 million from LAPD ’ s budget . Two thirds of NYPD ’ s cut are overtime reduction and moving school policing to the Department of Education . It is safe to maintain that such a significant cut into overtime will also cut into NYPD ’ s capability to provide adequate police services .
20 WINTER . 2021
Policing is likely the most misunderstood profession by service recipients and service providers alike . Any social service , such as health and education , is measured based on the service provided -- not the problem that calls for the service . Police are measured on crime figures -- not on the service provided in connection with crime . Police are also ( still ) assessed based on the number of tickets and arrests . Yet , police are only custodians of crime statistics -- not the producers of crime . It is important to clarify the role of policing and the implications it has for a meaningful comprehensive police reform , or better say : reform government social services .
A very apt description of the role of police in democratic society is to guarantee freedom of movement of people and merchandise ( Alderson , 1979 ). The 180 years of the modern policing movement have seen several distinct phases : political phase ( 1840-1930 ), reform phase ( 1930-1970 ), community oriented or problems solving phase ( 1970 and on ), community policing phase ( 1985 and on ), homeland security phase ( 2001 and on ) and the current phase is the one at a crossroads of demands for new police reform ( 2020 ).
It is important to look at crime not only as a legal concept but also as a behavioral concept . The latter can lead to a better understanding of why crimes are committed . To illustrate : if all criminal laws are abolished there will be no crime . Yet , there will still be behavior that is considered harmful to society . Part I crimes certainly are meant to address such behavior . Therefore , it is necessary to look at the community as the producer of crime and as the controller of crime . Doctors in hospitals are assessed on the quality of the medical service they provide
1 This is an expanded version of the op ed “ Build meaningful Police Reform : To do so involves looking to a wide range of social service ,” published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , August 7 , 2020 .