The death of Floyd, an American black man, not only triggered large-scale demonstrations and protests in Canada and the United States, but also triggered calls and discussions about the reform of law enforcement agencies. Toronto city councilors Josh Matlow and Michelle Wong this week proposed cutting police department funding by 10 per cent. Most city councilors in Minneapolis, where Floyd lived, proposed disbanding the police force and establishing a "new model of public safety system."
But police unions across the country are generally opposed to these reform proposals. They believe funding cuts will put frontline police in more dangerous situations. As for disbanding the police, a member of the Montreal police union said in an interview with Radio-Canada's morning program that when an emergency occurs at two or three in the morning, whether it is domestic violence or home invasion, someone must deal with it. Even if you disband the police force, you can't change this reality.
The experience of police reform in Campden, USA
In fact, the idea of abolishing or restructuring the police force did not just appear today. New Jersey Campden City in the United States has begun attempts in this area since 2013.
Campden is located next to Philadelphia. It has a population of 74,000 and is one of the cities with the lowest average income in the United States. Over the past many years, local homicide rates and ubiquitous open-air drug markets have also ranked the city as one of the most dangerous in the United States. In 2012, the number of homicides in Campden increased significantly. The city's police department wants to increase street patrols but doesn't have the funds to hire more officers.
In 2013, the Campden City Council decided to abolish the city police station and replace it with the county police station responsible for city security. The county police department doubled its manpower, mainly for street patrols.
From urban warrior to guardian
The bigger change is the concept of public security. The police are not the warriors of the city, but the guardians of the community. The new police code no longer counts arrests and fines issued as performance. Police are required to patrol on foot, increase daily contact with citizens, and build trusting relationships with them. Police are trained on how to de-escalate tense situations and are equipped with body cameras. Cameras and bullet-sensing devices have been added throughout the city.
For ordinary citizens, the most obvious change is that they often see police officers walking on the streets. They weren't used to it at first, because the presence of police used to mean something was going on nearby. But they soon discovered that when the police come to you now, they mostly just want to chat for a while, or invite you to participate in a community event organized by them to make you feel reassured by their presence.
Most police departments have a broad definition of "reasonable use of force." But the Campden County Police Department worked with New York University to develop an 18-page use of force policy. Police are required — not merely advised — to use chokeholds or fire their weapons only in certain situations and after exhausting all means of relieving tension. Police must intervene when they witness a peer breaking the rules.
According to police data, complaints about excessive use of force by the police in Campden have dropped by 95% since 2014. In addition, there were 67 homicides in the city in 2012, before the reorganization of the police department began, but only 25 occurred in 2019.
Perhaps what best reflects the reform concept of the Campden Police Department is the anti-racism and Floyd parade held by the city on May 30. The police not only participated in the march but also helped organize it. On the day of the parade, they showed up without riot shields and instead brought a truck full of ice cream.
(RCI with CBC News, Alexander Panetta, Bloomberg, Sarah Holder)
