Minneapolis Police Department - USA

OPINION: Three years after the death of George Floyd, the latest report by the US Justice Department in to policing in Minneapolis features a raft of worrying findings, including discrimination against Black people and Native Americans, and routine use of excessive force; but Arizona State University Associate Professor Rashad Shabazz believes the report also demonstrates that rather than being an aberration, such misconduct is part of how policing was historically intended to be in the US.

ANALYSIS: With the heightened global focus on legitimacy and professional standards within policing, a new report by Manhattan Institute Adjunct Fellow Dorothy Moses Schulz explores the issues around rogue ‘wandering cops’, including the recruitment pressures on police departments, efforts to make decertification easier and introduce more widespread licensing, and the need for clear language in any future legislation.

FEATURE: When a police officer behaves in a way that harms individuals, colleagues and the community they service, it’s important that others intervene as early as possible to ensure those actions and attitudes don’t escalate; former Scottish police officer and active bystander trainer Graham Goulden explains the thinking behind the approach, and what forces need to be doing to equip officers with effective intervention skills.

LONG READ: The death of George Floyd shone the spotlight strongly on police use of force, but many police services and departments had already recognised concerns and were attempting to address the issue; however, the lack of data on the effectiveness of training in areas such as de-escalation have left it difficult to identify what works and why, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr-Munro reports.

FEATURE: The killing of George Floyd and the ongoing debate about police reform pushed Minneapolis Police Department firmly into the spotlight, and prompted a recent vote on significant changes to policing in the city; Professor Michelle Phelps of the University of Minnesota explored the background to why voters rejected the proposed changes, and what that decision means in the wider context of police reform.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former FBI agent Donovan J Leighton explores the problems associated with tackling gun violence, and the challenges and successes of Operation Ceasefire in balancing prevention and enforcement.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Elliott Averett, a former Seattle Police officer and JD candidate at Georgetown University, explains why rioting, lack of support from political leadership, and the threat of defunding and layoffs are driving good police officers to quit.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professor Michael Fortner of City University of New York explores the political limitations of the ‘causal story’ attached to #defund and why a blended reform approach rather than the moral clarity of police abolition will save more lives.

OPINION: The guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd should be the catalyst for fundamental change in US policing, believes Professor Temitope Oriola, who argues that – with 17 disciplinary complaints against him – the fact that Chauvin was still a serving officer suggests the system is broken.