Feds get in way of reform effort
The Trump administration has largely abandoned providing assistance to reform-seeking, local law enforcement agencies across the country, and the change has hurt cities like San Francisco. That was the crucial message coming out of a three-day conference last week hosted by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Northern California police chiefs, commanders, prosecutors and community activists gathered in Oakland last week to discuss police shootings, racial bias and other crucial and contentious issues in law enforcement.
One theme that kept emerging was the progress that had begun on local police reform under the Obama-era Department of Justice — and the difficulty of continuing that progress under the Trump administration. A case in point is San Francisco. Following a string of controversial police shootings, San Francisco leaders requested a Department of Justice review of the Police Department’s practices in April 2016. The Department of Justice responded with 272 recommendations — and, crucially, with the promise of support as San Francisco police implemented them.
The Police Department was in the middle of implementing the recommendations when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly lurched his Department of Justice in a different direction.
Under Sessions, Justice has pulled resources out of collaborative reform programs, essentially telling local law enforcement agencies that they’re on their own.
Sessions’ decision undercuts San Francisco police — and other local law enforcement agencies that were depending on Justice Department support for reforms — in at least two ways.
One, by ripping resources away from police agencies attempting to reform their practices, the Justice Department is suggesting that it’s not invested in their success.
Two, by refusing to provide independent guidance and support for local police agencies, the federal government is sending a message that reforms don’t matter.
Both of these messages are an insult to the men and women who work in law enforcement. The choice will have poor practical impacts, as well: communities that have agitated for reforms will be frustrated when those reforms are slowed, or even stopped.
The San Francisco Police Department asked California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, to step in, and Becerra has agreed to do so.
The decision ensures that our Police Department will continue making reforms, though at a slower pace. (Becerra’s office is new to the role, and city and state officials are still working out the specifics.)
But even with the delays, San Francisco is in a fortunate position. The city’s police leadership is invested in making necessary changes, and the leadership of this state is invested in police reform. Both of those elements are critical, because police reforms are difficult to implement and even harder to maintain.
Other cities aren’t so lucky. That’s the real tragedy of this federal pullback: Reform-minded communities will see their efforts thwarted by those who should have protected them.