What police reform looks like from within

In recent weeks, police officers in New Haven, Connecticut, have been given a new rule to follow on the beat. In dangerous situations, they must not only use deadly force as a last resort but also “employ de-escalation and mitigation techniques to the greatest extent practicable.” It is an example of police reform reflected in more than 140 new state laws since the eruption of protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and other controversial killings by police.

New Haven’s new policy, as in many places, comes with a deeper message for police. It also requires officers “to recognize the sanctity of human life and respect every person’s rights and dignity.”

Such new ethics in police departments come as the hotter passions of public protest have yielded to the quieter, consistent work of practical reform. The reforms may be creating a unique moment of transformation. More candidates for police chief positions, for example, are women and people of color. More public hearings are enabling citizens to be involved in the hiring process. A different generation of leaders is emerging.

The shift is more than demographic. Demand for a new compact between a community and those who protect it is bearing fruit. “We’ve gone from a militaristic, us vs. them, good guys vs. bad guys mentality,” says Brian O’Hara, public safety director of the Newark Police Department in New Jersey. “Today that culture doesn’t exist. Training in the past emphasized use of force. Now we do scenario-based training. We screen folks for the right mindset and values. They have to know how to de-escalate. That’s a totally different skill.”

Newark illustrates how law enforcement is evolving from within. In 2014, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found a long pattern of civil rights abuses by the department, targeted overwhelmingly at Black residents. Under the leadership of a new mayor elected three weeks earlier, the city worked closely with federal officials to transform the department, starting with a campaign to hire hundreds of new officers. In a city that is 53% Black and 34% Latino, 80% of the new officers are Black or other people of color and 22% are women. Female Muslim officers are allowed to wear hijabs.

Long before “defund the police” became a protest slogan, Newark had already formed community partnerships to “rethink what policing looks like,” says Mayor Ras Baraka. “Violence reduction is not a police matter alone. Police can’t solve social issues. For us, ‘defund’ means ‘re-imagine.’”

Community partnerships are finding a role in recruitment as well. The St. Louis Police Department (SLPD), for example, works with outside specialists to ensure that military veterans training to be police officers leave the battlefield mentality behind.

“We’re not in combat,” says Sgt. Christy Allen, head of SLPD community engagement and recruitment. “We want our officers to understand that the most powerful way to relate to the people we serve is to talk to them. Relate to them. Learn their names. Offer them resources. That may seem small, but it is powerful. Many situations don’t have to end with handcuffs.”

Moving law enforcement officers closer to the high ideals of a community sometimes requires more than a nudge. Better recruitment and new styles of training are helping to lift the thinking of many officers to a better ethic of restraint and community inclusion.