Across the United States, police departments are on the forefront of enforcing and defending the Constitution. However, there is a greater need of accountability for both their effectiveness and conduct to increase their legitimacy in the eyes of those they police and to encourage innovation in police practices. In this, I propose a new era of policing — new-wave professionalism.
To transform the police departments for the better, I recommend that police departments:
- Adopt evidence-based policing.
- Implement collaborative strategic crime control strategies.
- Institutionalize procedural justice.
- Reduce unnecessary use of force.
- Reduce racial inequities in police practices.
- Consider options for increasing civilian oversight of the police.
- Implement a body-worn camera program.
- Improve prevention of police-involved harm through sentinel event reviews.
- Build police-research partnerships to advance policing.
- Build momentum for police reform through organizational justice.
- Improve officer health and wellness.
- Improve the policing of crowds.
- Increase efficiency of police response to sexual assaults.
