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  • Community groups have consistently failed to improve policing. These advocates are pushing a new way.

    June 11, 2020 |

    Mother Jones |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Civilian oversight panels serving as watchdogs and disciplinary enforcers for police departments have a generally poor record of effectiveness, thanks to multiple structural flaws. But examples of successful oversight are multiplying, and thanks to protests of police violence many more cities are working to establish bodies with real power to investigate wrongdoing in specific cases and effect change throughout an agency. One city getting high marks for its program is Denver, where the Office of Independent Monitor succeeded in pressing for new use-of-force rules, which cut incidents by 21% in a year.

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  • American Indian patrol in Minneapolis credited with saving buildings during protests

    June 11, 2020 |

    Minneapolis Star Tribune |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Volunteer street patrols organized by the American Indian Movement, the national civil rights group, saved the heart of the Twin Cities’ native American community from damage during the looting and arson that broke out during protests over police brutality in Minneapolis. AIM street patrols that had been created in 1968 were revived for the June 2020 unrest. Local businesses praised the effort for protecting their buildings, often by standing guard overnight armed with walkie-talkies and sometimes with guns.

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  • This is how the Police Advisory Commission should work in Philadelphia

    June 10, 2020 |

    The Philadelphia Citizen |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Truly independent citizen review boards can serve as an effective check on police misconduct if they are structured properly, but too many cities are like Philadelphia, where a lack of power and resources means they serve mainly as window dressing. The history of the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission shows how initial efforts by community groups to establish real oversight fizzled through political gamesmanship and limits on the panel’s power to investigate and discipline. More promising models exist in Phoenix, Denver, and St. Louis.

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  • Democracy isn't working: five ideas that are already helping to fix the problem

    June 10, 2020 |

    The Correspondent |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Kenya

    Communities around the world are increasing citizen participation in political decision-making in innovative ways. Participatory budgets allow locals to decide how cities spend money and in some Kenyan cities this has successfully engaged marginalized communities. Citizens’ Initiative Reviews in Oregon and Representative Population Samples in Brazil have allowed the public to weigh in on important policies. In Taiwan, citizen-led digital participation platforms helped to control the coronavirus and avoid major shutdowns. These alternatives require funding and public trust, both of which can be hard to get.

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  • Out Of The Ruins

    June 07, 2020 |

    All Hands On |

    Documentary |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Greece

    Protests against severe “austerity measures” that were passed after the 2011 economic recession resulted in worker and housing cooperatives to address labor and housing inequities. Citizens protested by gathering in public squares and holding rallies where speakers were randomly selected from the crowd. This is based on an ancient democratic process where citizens are selected at random to speak their mind in regards to politics and public affairs. The organizations that emerged practiced participatory democracy through horizontal leadership, though many were eventually shut down by the government.

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  • I Cover Cops as an Investigative Reporter. Here Are Five Ways You Can Start Holding Your Department Accountable.

    June 04, 2020 |

    ProPublica |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New Jersey

    Citizen watchdogs can hold local police accountable by using the tactics of investigative reporters that have successfully exposed systemic problems and sparked reforms. One reporter shares five approaches he’s used to hold up policies and practices to scrutiny, some of which led to positive change. He provides a how-to on learning the existing policies, obtaining public records, engaging influencers in honest dialog, presenting verified evidence in a fair format, and seeking allies to pressure for reform.

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  • How a City Once Consumed by Civil Unrest Has Kept Protests Peaceful

    June 01, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

    Through a combination of protesters’ vigilance, mayoral leadership, anti-violence interventions, and de-escalation by police, Newark managed to avoid the violence that marred other cities’ responses in the initial burst of protest after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd. Newark has worked in recent years to reduce street violence using trained mediators. That team, aided by a resolve among protesters to prevent widespread looting and vandalism, helped prevent all but minor problems and arrests in the first volatile weekend of protests.

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  • Why So Many Police Are Handling the Protests Wrong

    June 01, 2020 |

    The Marshall Project |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Half a century of research showing the dynamics of how protesters and police interact under pressure teaches that when police respond with escalating force, it doesn’t work. But police continue to lean on such tactics out of instinct and culture, even in the face of strong evidence that they often instigate the very riots they ostensibly seek to prevent. Defusing tension is no simple matter, and officer safety concerns are often legitimate. But much can be learned from common mistakes and from some model strategies that have been deployed successfully.

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  • Thousands of Complaints Do Little to Change Police Ways

    May 30, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Derek Chauvin's journey through the Minneapolis Police Department’s officer-disciplinary system illustrates the weaknesses of that system and the failure of efforts to fix it. Chauvin, the officer charged in the death of George Floyd, survived at least 17 misconduct complaints before he was fired for killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck. Critics charge the department never complied with recommendations by federal analysts to improve the tracking and disciplining of problem officers. That and other administrative failures are coupled with political and cultural barriers to neuter many reform ideas.

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  • Before George Floyd's Death, Minneapolis Police Failed to Adopt Reforms, Remove Bad Officers

    May 28, 2020 |

    The Marshall Project |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    The Minneapolis Police Department’s repeated failures to reform a broken police-discipline system underscore the lack of public trust that exploded in local and nationwide protests after an officer with a troubled record killed a handcuffed suspect. An analysis of police-reform efforts in the city, and statewide, show how vows to do better have been undermined by official reluctance to remove bad officers from duty, either through administrative or legislative failure. Among the unaddressed problems: a "coaching" system that allows officers to avoid suspension but is riddled with problems.

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