Massachusetts – On Tuesday of this week, Massachusetts legislature passed a bill that would ban police “chokeholds” and form a new civilian-led commission dedicated to investigating officer misconduct. The bill is set to be sent to Republican Governor Charlie Baker’s officer for review. The majority civilian commission, dubbed the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission if the bill is signed by the Governor, would also be responsible for standardizing the certification, training, and decertification of officers.

If signed into law, police would be prohibited from being trained on or using “lateral vascular neck [...]

Seattle, WA – While touting the phrases of “Cut the police budget by fifty percent”, the Seattle City Council, in an unforeseen move, trimmed police spending by only twenty percent in its recent vote on the mayor’s projected budget. In an 8-1 victory on Monday, law enforcement saw complete funding for 100 officers, where naysayers wanted less than half of that. To further stifle speculation of the last minute change in funding, Mayor Jenny Durkin announced that she would sign the budget rather than veto the changes.

Previous propositions from the council assisted in the resignation of SPD Chief Carmen Best earlier this year following civil unrest, [...]

A broader net has been cast across the San Jose area pertaining to police misconduct. After the passing of Measure G in this months elections, the Office of Independent Police Auditors now encompasses internal complaints and broadens their ability to collect use of force information. This furthers the cause to divide investigations of misconduct from the overseeing authority of the San Jose Police Department. Mayor Sam Liccardo and Councilmember  Magdalena Carrasco proposed opening negations to begin the process Tuesday. They stressed that although the changes are being made, reforms would be subject to additional police union negotiations, as pertains to their contract with the city. [...]

Opinion

From the Wickersham Commission to recent calls to defund and abolish the police, efforts at police reform have been underway for the better part of the last century. Through the decades, policing in the United States has adjusted, evolved, and adapted to the ever-changing landscape of law and public policy. In more recent years, police agencies have embraced calls for reforms and transparency by pulling back the curtain on policy, training, and investigations and by involving community groups in decision-making processes related to core functions of policing.

Historically, calls for police reform have reached their peak following high profile events often involving [...]