Citation

Freilich JD, Chermak SM. Criminol. Public Policy 2022; 21(1): 3-7.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Society of Criminology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1745-9133.12577

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, while in the custody of a Minneapolis police officer, stunned the nation and led to calls for criminal justice and community change. Scholars estimate that over 20 million persons attended protests about this killing and other police misconduct in the United States, making these the largest social protests in American history (Buchanan et al., 2020). Importantly, over the past 18 months, there have been widespread discussions about the proper role of police in society. Different proposals have been debated and, in some cases, implemented, including defunding/abolishing the police; reassigning responsibilities away from the police to other professionals; enhancing police training involving the use of force, de-escalation techniques, and related issues; and expanding community policing tactics.

Language: en

Keywords

criminal justice reform; police; police legitimacy