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**APRIL 26, 2021**

Kuttner on TAP

Common Ground on Police Reform

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Derek Chauvin's conviction only begins a long road to systemic police
reform. And in the short run, overdue demands to rein in abuses and
limit police immunity could lead to even greater hostility between
police and the citizens they supposedly serve.

Call me optimistic, but there are actually systemic changes that both
make citizens safer from police and police better able to do their core
jobs of protecting people. Here are three:

No More Traffic Stops. As Rosa Brooks

and other police reformers have observed, there are now so many cameras
on roads that we don't need cops to ticket speeders, check for expired
license plates, much less to make the random stops that often escalate
to police violence.

The ability of police to stop any car for any reason disproportionately
targets African Americans for the crime of Driving While Black. Get
police out of this business and there will be fewer needless
confrontations, cops can focus on real police work, and taxpayers can
save money.

Triage 911 Calls. Too many cops are lousy at de-escalation when they
respond to a crisis call. We do need better trained police; but as
reformers have observed, 911 calls involving mental health crises should
be directed to mental health workers, not police. My daughter, a
clinical social worker, pointed me to a model Oregon program

where an EMT and a peer counselor who has surmounted mental health
challenges work as a crisis intervention team rather than having police
intervene.

End the System of Cascading Fines and Bench Warrants. Black men who were
murdered by police were often fleeing after being stopped for minor
infractions. Why did they flee? Usually because of outstanding warrants

for failure to pay minor fines that then escalated into larger fines and
greater penalties. Most of these should be wiped clean, and a new system
instituted so that fines don't cumulate, leaving so many young Black
men literally outlaws-unable to withstand routine police encounters,
apply for drivers' licenses or jobs, for fear of arrest and jail.

These reforms put cops and citizens on the same side. They enable cities
to cut outlays without confrontational campaigns that begin by
"defunding the police." Reduced police costs are the result, not the
opening bid.

And yes, these measures are no substitutes for Justice Department
monitoring, and reform of basic policing practices. But they could
create a systemic context in which fewer needless confrontations will
occur, some trust can be restored, policing culture becomes easier to
change, and reforms are more likely to stick.

~ ROBERT KUTTNER

Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter

Robert Kuttner's latest book is
The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy
.

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