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.