Recent protests revive push for WA to speed up police reform

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At the forefront of the conversation that has emerged in the past few months is a restless generation of activists who are rejecting long-held ideas about how to reform the police. They say existing reforms, such as those mandated by I-940, have done little to slow killings by police. They call instead for foundational change, including steep cuts to police departments’ budgets and the diversion of those savings to other social services such as crisis-intervention units.

This emerging movement comes as reforms required by I-940 were due to be taking effect. Yet, a review by InvestigateWest of the state’s compliance with the voters’ nearly 2-year-old mandate reveals a process fraught with delay, compromise and pushback. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, police agencies were on track to miss deadlines set to enforce the law. And as the shooting by Wiley reveals, it may take intervention by activists to ensure that agencies follow the standards set under the law.

https://crosscut.com/equity/2020/08/recent-protests-revive-push-wa-speed-police-reform?utm_source=Crosscut%20Weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Crosscut+Weekly+-+20200830+-+READYRead more here.