Police Reform

POLICY SOLUTIONS FOR RACIAL INJUSTICE AND EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE BY POLICE FORCES

To be effective policy solutions must address the following:

  • Enforcement Policy (short term)
  • Systemic Racism (long term).
  1. All police as well as other safety, security and enforcement departments must adopt a comprehensive “Use of Force” policy.
  2. North Carolina should develop a baseline Use of Force Policy manual.
  3. Such policies must be made available to the public and subject to the input of Community Boards and the approval of local elected officials.
  4. All included departments must establish Citizen Review Committees for the purpose of reviewing all cases of misconduct and use of excessive force.
  5. All on-duty officers must wear and have activated body cameras. Video from such cameras must be maintained on file for at least one year.
  6. Such video must be made immediately available to family members of injured or killed victims.
  7. Records of repeated misconduct and excessive force must be available to the public.
  8. Establish a national database of confirmed excessive use of force cases.
  9. All on-scene officers should be held equally accountable for violations of Use of Force policies.
  10. All included departments must be regularly trained in racial bias and de-escalation techniques of both victim and enforcement situations.

Use of Force Policies must include at least, the following:

  • Post-restraint procedures
  • De-escalation procedures for handling both victims and officers
  • Use of Force continuum
  • Banning so-called choke holds (as defined by NYC policy)
  • Banning “no-knock” warrants for non-violent crimes
  • Elimination of Qualified Immunity
  • Implicit bias training
  • Regular meetings between community members and compliance officers
  • Requirement of internal written reporting for all suspected violations of UoF policy by all on-scene officers
  • Non-retaliation (whistle blower) protections
  • Sanctity of life statement
  • Commitment to eliminate racial bias in enforcement

The following laws should be revisited and revised:

  • HB 706 (2019)
  • HB 972 (2016)