Sensible reform idea: ask the police to do less

One of the more intriguing police-reform ideas to emerge in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis is remarkable for its simplicity. Many troubling incidents occur after officers respond to minor disturbances involving mentally ill people or non-criminal matters. Why not skip the cops and instead call social workers or mentalhealth professionals?

It’s a common-sense question asked not only by reformers, but by prominent police officials. “We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said four years ago. “Here in Dallas we got a loose dog problem; let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, let’s give it to the cops … Policing was never meant to solve all these problems.”

Fortunately, more localities realize it might be time not only to consider better police strategies, but non-police strategies, as well. San Francisco officials have approved a plan to use trained, unarmed social-work professionals to respond to routine calls involving homeless people, disputes between neighbors and school discipline issues. It has the police chief’s backing. Cities including Oakland, Sacramento and Los Angeles are considering similar models.

It’s not a new idea. Thirty years ago, Eugene, Oregon, a college town of 172,000 people, began staffing an old van with unarmed medics and counselors to respond to suicide threats, drug-addiction and homeless issues – “problems for which there are no easy fixes” and that “in the hands of police have often turned violent,” according to a recent CNN report. The city has expanded this program. By most estimates, it is remarkably successful.

The nation finally seems ready to consider alternative approaches. There are myriad potential benefits. It’s easier to send trained social workers to deal with a minor incident than it is to retrain every police officer into being a de facto social worker. It’s likely to reduce violent encounters.

These policies would reduce the amount of time police agencies spend on minor disturbances and let them focus instead on serious crime. As the Los Angeles Times reported, “police accounted for more than 90 percent” of the $21 million that San Francisco spent over one year to enforce homeless-related laws. That’s a misuse of police resources. They are among the costliest services any city provides, so such reforms could result in cost savings.

The California legislature is considering Assembly Bill 2054, which creates pilot programs to deploy counselors and other non-police staff to deal with homelessness, natural disasters and other crisis situations. “This bill is designed to de-escalate crises, reduce reactive violence, and to send vital services to people who have a tougher time accessing critically needed emergency services,” said its author, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles, in a statement.

This measure has bipartisan backing. We like the concept and pilot projects in general, given they provide a way to test new ideas before rolling them out across the state. Based on similar thinking, the Federal Communications Commission has developed an emergency 988 hotline. It’s similar to 911, but is reserved for mental-health emergencies – a sensible idea given that around a quarter of the people killed by police officers were experiencing mental problems.

There’s no simple fix to the nation’s policing problems, but creating alternative responses to non-violent incidents is a humane, cost-effective and non-controversial way to start.