If Sessions decides to double down on his aggressive ignorance, the country will suffer as a result.
Tag: Police Reform
Top Viewed Articles of 2016
Read The Contemporary’s most popular content from 2016. If you missed any of these great articles, we hope that you’ll give them a try!
The Fiscal Case for Criminal Justice Reform
If cash remains the main motivating factor for politicians, there is a serious case to be made for criminal justice reform on a much larger scale.
Broken Windows and Bill Bratton
Bill Bratton was synonymous with the broken windows theory, and he was able to evolve his style of police as our understanding of the theory changed.
Rates of “Black Crime” Don’t Disprove Racial Bias
Racial discrepancies in Police stops cannot be explained by different crime rates among Black Communities.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Trust the Police?
For police, legitimacy is crucial: it means that citizens are more likely to comply with orders, report crimes, act as witnesses, assist in investigations and support police power. But, like a teacher on the first day of school, police only acquire a limited amount of respect from their title alone. The rest can be earned through their actions.
Police-Community Relations: A False Paradigm
When the power differential between police and communities is so large, the “Police-Community Relations” narrative can skew the conversation.
In Baltimore, Even More Evidence of Discriminatory Policing
This Department of Justice’s report on the Baltimore Police Department’s practices provides data for what the black community in Baltimore has said for years; they were ignored, criticized, and vilified.
The War on Citizens
Through the 1980s and 1990s, federal and state governments increased sentences, limited parole, expanded the War on Drugs, and militarized the police. The predominant attitude, held by both conservatives and liberals, was that criminals and addicts were an enemy who needed punishment instead of rehabilitation.
The Repeating Rhetoric Against Civil Rights
Rhetoric from many opponents of Black Lives Matter has only deepened our divisions by dismissing oppression, linking civil rights with violence and professing Black criminality.