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Nature Might Hold the Secret to Healing Police-Community Relations

Krista Langlois

December 05, 2016 |

Outside |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

After charged discussions and protests around racial injustice within police departments, Baltimore set out to find a solution to bridge the divide created between the city's police force and the kids that lived in stereotyped neighborhoods. Using nature as a common ground, the Outward Bound Police Youth Challenge was born to bring the two sides together and teach them that they have more in common than they may think.

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Getting Tried as an Adult Depends on Skin Color

Sarah Gonzalez

October 10, 2016 |

WNYC |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

Many minors, especially those who are black or hispanic, are tried and sentenced as adults. A new New Jersey law requires minors to at least begin their sentence in juvenile facilities, but there are still problems.

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Abolish the police? Organizers say it's less crazy than it sounds.

Maya Dukmasova

August 25, 2016 |

The Chicago Reader |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Police abolitionism, an idea that strikes many as fanciful and dangerous, lies at the root of many community projects in Chicago that have demonstrated on a small scale the ways that problems can be solved without police involvement. Run by acolytes of Mariame Kaba, these projects provided dispute resolution services, mental health responses, and a bond fund that uses donated money to bail pretrial defendants out of jail. The key idea is to demonstrate ways to scale back police powers, rather than wait for institutions to reform themselves.

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Barriers to Reforming Police Practices

Tina Rosenberg

August 02, 2016 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

With the police killings of Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, and other black lives across the country, the problem remains how to reform police departments and reduce excessive force on unarmed men and women. Procedural justice is a strategy that centers on legitimizing the law for at-risk communities by building trust, so that the environment of policing changes to one of respect and less crime results. Procedural justice has begun to be implemented across the United States police departments with some measurable successes, although police accountability remains important and should be an extension of the strategy.

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A Strategy to Build Police-Citizen Trust

Tina Rosenberg

July 26, 2016 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Stockton, California

The increase of violence between the police and Black communities across the country requires a reconstruction of the relationship that addresses empathy, trust, and crime reduction. The Department of Justice has developed test programs in different cities that train police officers in procedural justice. The early results of this program in Stockton, CA show that communities and police have built trust and law legitimacy, while the crime rate has not increased.

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Policing the Police

Jelani Cobb Anya Bourg

June 28, 2016 |

PBS Frontline |

Broadcast TV Programs |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

The Department of Justice has ordered the Newark Police Department to make reforms to its policing practices, so that public safety will not compromise the human rights. An investigation into the NPD has shown that officers made too many undocumented stops and used unjustified excessive force, resulting in community mistrust. The Newark mayor has begun re-training the police force, reworked standards for punishing police misconduct, advocated body cameras, and civilian oversight of the police department – all of which has started to improve community relations and build trust.

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A radical approach to gun crime: paying people not to kill each other

Jason Motlagh

June 09, 2016 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

Richmond, California’s Office of Neighborhood Safety uses controversial monthly cash stipends among the incentives it gives to young men it’s trying to steer away from street violence. While the program's first years were associated with steep drops in shootings and homicides, critics question whether ONS deserves the credit and whether it can be replicated in other cities. A deep look at how it works finds evidence that it does make a positive difference while operating in a complex arena of advances and setbacks.

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Machine Bias

Julia Angwin Jeff Larson

May 23, 2016 |

ProPublica |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Risk assessments are supposed to make the criminal justice system better by predicting which defendants are likely to commit new crimes. Defendant scores are given to judges during criminal sentencing in nine states, and there’s a push to mandate their use in federal prisons. But the risk assessments aren’t accurate, only somewhat more reliable than a coin flip. Black defendants are falsely flagged as future criminals at a high rate while white defendants regularly get mislabeled as low risk.

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‘Police vs. Black': Bridging the ‘Racialized Gulf'

Donna Ladd

May 04, 2016 |

Jackson Free Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

New York Police Department has Operation Ceasefire, in which a mother whose child was a victim of gun violence calls gang members at risk of perpetuating similar crimes. The effort aims to bridge the divide between ethnic minority communities and the police with community pressure on behalf of the police.

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Ceasefire in the City? How Police Can (and Cannot) Deter Gunfire

Donna Ladd

May 04, 2016 |

Jackson Free Press |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Mississippi

In poor, crime-infected neighborhood with limited opportunities, where interactions with law enforcement are often toxic and punitive, and distrust on both sides is rampant. An integrated strategy is at the core of the model that can change this:"Operation Ceasefire," a form of targeted deterrence. The carrot-stick approach is carefully designed to reach men believed to be on the cusp of committing gun violence, let them know the consequences and help them fulfill their needs, thus finding a way to maybe change their trajectory into something more positive.

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