Police Reform

A new proposal to abolish small police forces seeks to end the cycle of debt and incarceration.

With William C. Anderson, journalist and co-author of As Black As Resistance.

Late last month, local students and community members participated in a sit-in at Chicago City Hall to oppose a massive new police and fire training academy on the West Side of Chicago. Protesters set up tombstones labeled with the names of closed public schools, mental health clinics, and people killed by the police. It was one of […]

Criminal charges are absent from 85 percent of all forfeiture cases in the city.

Last year, Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler successfully ran on a platform that championed police reform as a major priority. But since he took office, Wheeler has repeatedly drawn the ire of local criminal justice reform activists and organizers. On Monday, Wheeler took a step that could begin to heal his relationship with concerned Portlanders by appointing Danielle Outlaw, a 19-year veteran […]

Police accountability advocates in Portland, Oregon celebrated a rare victory last October when former mayor Charlie Hales renegotiated the city’s contract with the Portland police union. Though many details of the negotiation were criticized, Hales did succeed in getting the union to strikethe long-held, controversial 48-hour rule that allowed officers involved in fatal shootings to wait […]