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Police must be stripped of their discretion to interact with people. Far too risky & deadly. One place to start: Traffic stops. "Reassign most traffic enforcement to separate traffic agencies independent from police departments." It's not hard to imagine. https://theappeal.org/traffic-enforcement-without-police/
"Of all functions that could be separated from police, one of the most significant would be removal of traffic enforcement. Over 24 million people each year come into police contact during a traffic stop. Stops can be especially dangerous & discriminatory for people of color."
Black drivers are 20% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
As much as twice as likely to be searched.
11% of all fatal shootings by police in 2015 occurred during traffic stops.
Sources: Stanford Open Policing Project + Washington Post.
As much as twice as likely to be searched.
11% of all fatal shootings by police in 2015 occurred during traffic stops.
Sources: Stanford Open Policing Project + Washington Post.
Jordan Blair Woods, a criminologist & legal scholar at the University of Arkansas School of Law set forth a framework to strip police of the power to stop, search, & kill Black people. "The agencies would employ unarmed monitors to enforce traffic laws." https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3702680
"Under the proposed framework, police would no longer be able to make routine stops for minor traffic violations, like speeding or failing to signal. This would mean tens of millions of stops conducted each year carried out by unarmed traffic monitors, rather than armed police."
"The traffic monitors would not be able to detain, search, or arrest people like police can, and wouldn’t conduct criminal investigations—they would simply enforce traffic laws by conducting stops and issuing citations."
"Removing police from traffic enforcement may sound revolutionary, but it’s not unattainable. Berkeley, California, has already passed a proposal to shift traffic & parking enforcement away from the Police Department." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/berkeley-ca-police-department-reform.html
Rigel Robinson ( @RigelRobinson), the Berkeley City Council member who proposed the initiative: “Driving while Black shouldn’t be a crime.” https://twitter.com/RigelRobinson/status/1281348127509712897
"Proposals similar to Berkeley's were explored in Cambridge, MA; St. Louis Park, MN; & Montgomery County, MD, last year. Elsewhere, bills would bar police from enforcing minor traffic infractions, like tinted windows, faulty brake lights, or dangling air fresheners."
“The goal is to make traffic stops about traffic. And in doing that, address the disparity we currently have in traffic enforcement, disparities that can lead to people of color losing their lives.” https://theappeal.org/traffic-enforcement-without-police/
