Former LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing on Reforming U.S. Police

National debate surrounding the shooting of an unarmed
black teenager and the response by police in
Ferguson, Missouri, has produced a clear consensus that
this militarized transformation of American law
enforcement—and all that comes with it—is not exclusive to
Fergusonand should not be a part of the American
landscape. So how can we change? How can we build an ethical police
force based upon the concept of Constitutional policing by
consent?

Stephen Downing, former deputy chief of police with the Los
Angeles Police Department (LAPD), suggests we look to the values
elucidated by Robert Peel in the 19th century in “Nine
Principles of Policing”. Peel believed the role of police was “to
prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression
by military force and severity of legal punishment.” Using Peel as
the foundation, Downing argues that we should reshape the landscape
of American policing with immediate reforms that include ending the
war on drugs; ending asset seizures not accompanied by a
criminal conviction; establishing effective civilian oversight to
independently investigate all allegations of police misconduct; and
establishing policies that address the abuses of
“interfering” and “failure to obey” arrest
laws. 

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