Ideas are out there! We just have to utilize them!
So, what's my point here? My point is I want police reform just as much as the next guy. Do I think violent protesting is effective? Do I think freeway barricades are effective? Not at all. So what do I suggest?
I think that the Department of Justice needs to re-enforce structural police reform under § 14141.
§ 14141 states that "the statute gives the U.S. Attorney General the power to initiate structural reform litigation against local police departments engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional behavior." - Stephen Rushin
In agreement with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the U.S. Department of Justice, I think that departments should revise their police training programs and lengthen training time. Weeks of sufficient training will be necessary if police academies want to permanently instill their new policy in the policemen. Less training time could result in the officers fall back into their old stereotypical habits.
Performance evaluations should be incorporated into the system often to ensure departments and the community that they have the best men on the job. They also set standards and values for police officers to live up to and follow and can also determine which officers are following protocol and exercising new concepts learned through revised training methods.
Oftentimes the cause of officers veering off on wrong paths is because they don't have a set idea of what kind of officer they're supposed to be. A written mission statement would be the best way to have an official set of the goals and values for each department. It will emphasize what is important to each individual police branch and what they are training and working towards. An example of a mission statement would be:
“ [We] will build problem-solving partnerships with our citizens to prevent the next crime and enhance the quality of life throughout our community, always treating people with fairness and respect. We value: Our employees, People, Partnerships, Open Communications, Problem Solving, Integrity, Courtesy, The Constitution of North Carolina, The Constitution of the United States.” - The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice
Lastly, the most important thing that needs to be further implemented is community involvement. Since these jobs require community interactions and protecting the community itself, it is important that they have a say in what is being done to the organization that provides them with security. This will also strengthen the trust of the people in the police as most recent events (Mike Brown especially) have only proved to weaken it. If the community has a say then they're more likely to listen to the authorities.