A Policy Toolkit for Reforming Force Regulations
Changing how a police department operates is challenging, and research has shown the slow pace at which police organizations and their cultures embrace reforms. But effective advocates have identified a set of proven strategies for advancing impactful changes. The Center for Racial Justice’s new Use of Force Policy Toolkit brings together these approaches and provides community members, elected officials, and police leaders in California and beyond with resources to reform force regulations effectively.
These resources guide users in understanding and analyzing force regulations, considering opportunities for reform, and proposing policy changes aimed at improving policing practices and minimizing unnecessary force. America’s decentralized approach to regulating policing means that the complex interplay of agency policies, state statutes, and court decisions influences police practices. The Policy Toolkit breaks down this regulatory framework in California and offers a roadmap for communities in other states to understand and shape how their officers use force.
Force policies aren’t primarily set by courts or Congress. Local communities have the power to shape how their police officers use force.
Police departments and municipal lawyers often express concerns that force policy changes will increase liability for the police agency or city under federal civil rights laws. The Toolkit unpacks why these concerns are largely unfounded. As a federal appeals court has explained, “A city can certainly choose to hold its officers to a higher standard than that required by the Constitution without being subjected to increased liability under [federal civil rights law 42 U.S.C. § 1983]. To hold that cities with strict policies commit more constitutional violations than those with lax policies would be an unwarranted extension of the law, as well as a violation of common sense.” Smith v. Freeland (6th Cir. 1992).
Other common obstacles to policy reform—such as collective bargaining agreements and concerns about increased administrative burdens—can be navigated using the Toolkit’s resources. From explaining the impact of California’s Meyers-Milias-Brown Act on the negotiation process between a police department, officers, and their unions, to planning for training on new policies and ensuring that suitable accountability systems are in place, the Toolkit provides comprehensive guidance for overcoming implementation challenges.
By leveraging the Use of Force Policy Toolkit, communities can take important steps toward impactful changes in their policing practices.
