Criminal Justice Reform Proposals
Proposal #1: Bail Changes
Problem: The police have a very low threshold to arrest someone. Yet when someone gets arrested, that person will have to spend time in jail. They may lose their job or their status in the community. And they will have to spend thousands of dollars in bail if they want to get out. The money paid to a bail bondsman does not get returned. It is gone forever. Plus, the person will have the arrest on their record, even if they are later found not guilty. This arrest procedure often gets abused by officers misusing their power in order to harass people they don’t like, and it is particularly damaging to minorities and poor people. This low threshold for an arrest also allows for sloppy police work and incentivizes officers to be lazy, neglect due diligence, and ignore police protocols. A common phrase among officers is, “Arrest them all and let the courts sort it out.” This arrest procedure bogs down the court system and costs taxpayers inordinate amounts of money and causes social, emotional, and financial damage to the arrestees. Solution: In order to incentivize police officers to perform due diligence before making an arrest, officers should be held financially accountable. If a person is arrested and later found not guilty, the arresting officer should have to pay the bail. That will help the police make more informed and rational decisions when arresting individuals and charging citizens with crimes. This will help reduce the amount of arrests and unclog the bogged down court system. It will also prevent excessive bail. Perhaps an insurance system could be set up for officers to help pay for bail for said wrongful arrests. Officers pay into the system for a premium, and their premiums only go up if they make too many wrongful arrests. It will help motivate officers to be more diligent and help weed out officers who abuse the law. This bail change will deter police from harassing people they don’t like, including minorities and poor people. This proposed solution may motivate deception on the part of the police, but if bodycam footage is implemented properly, this risk will be greatly mitigated.
Proposal #2: Change Police Incentives
Problem: Police departments often receive federal grants based on their arrest numbers, incentivizing more arrests to secure funding. This system encourages targeting individuals for arrest, especially in poor and minority communities, leading to increased arrest rates. This overwhelms the court system and fosters distrust in police, particularly among those lacking resources to challenge these arrests. Solution: Police should remain a local entity and should not be receiving any federal funding.
“I used to be a police officer: There were a lot of unspoken rules about making sure we had a high number of arrests. Demonstrating high arrest numbers meant we got federal/state grant money. This kept the prosecutor employed along with the entire court system and showed the town/city we needed a larger budget because of all the arrests. The entire criminal justice system is literally a giant business which profits off the backs of the public.”
~Anonymous
Proposal #3: Public Recordings
Problem: People in authority in the criminal justice system are not being held accountable. This includes police officers, lawyers, judges, and other court employees. They can say or do things they later deny, and there is no recourse for the average citizen. Because of their position of power and trust, police officers and other public officials will be believed instead of the average citizen. Solution: A citizen should be allowed to record a public authority any time that public authority is acting in an official capacity. Public authorities should not have the right to privacy when on public duty. This should apply to any public authority who has the ability to take away rights, privileges, or liberties. This includes CPS, police, judges, school authorities, and even DMV employees. Public officials should not be able to claim confidentiality when on official business. They have the right to use force to take away a person’s liberty and even their life. Common citizens do not have that right.
If people in authority are corrupt, then laws don’t matter. More laws aren’t going to help. The only solution is putting honest individuals in power and then keeping them accountable.
Proposal #4: Mandatory Bodycam For On-Duty Officers
Problem: Sometimes police officers will say or do something that they later deny. Because of their position of trust, their word is typically taken over that of the common citizen. Solution: Any time an officer is on duty, they should have their bodycam active and recording. This will provide one more layer of protection for civilians against false accusations, and protections for police as well.
Proposal #5: Limits On Lying For Police Officers
Problem: Currently, the police are allowed to lie. The rationale is that they can get confessions and information by using lying as a tool. While that reasoning is debatable, the consequences of lying can be severe. If an officer lies and gets a false confession, or lies and makes a false report, they can cause incredible damage. Solution: If officers are allowed to lie, then they should be held accountable for what they say. There should not be exceptions for police who lie in their reports or in court. In addition, there should be strict limitations on when they can lie. Like only when they are conducting an interrogation or when going undercover, for example. And even then, they should still be held accountable for what they say.
Proposal #6: Police Officers Must Possess Knowledge Of The Law
Problem: Currently, police officers are not required to know the law. This is problematic because their primary responsibility is to enforce the law. Solution: Police should not be allowed to cite the law. If they do, they should be held accountable for whatever law they cite, whether it is accurate or not. In addition, as part of their yearly training, they should be required to regularly take classes on the laws they are enforcing, and they should be required to take a test on those classes. Their pay could be partially determined by how well they perform on the test.
“If police officers knew the law, they’d be called lawyers.”
~ Unknown
Proposal #7: Dissolution Of Police Unions
Problem: Police unions are an inherent conflict of interest. Police unions campaign to elect public officials, who then become beholden to the police unions who got them elected. The public officials no longer protect the interests of the public. Police unions by design end up protecting bad police officers from the consequences of their actions. This in turn undermines public trust. It also undermines the credibility of the good police officers who are working to serve the community. Police unions result in bad police officers continuing to work, even after they’ve engaged in criminal activity. Police unions ensure that police are not subject to criminal charges and investigations when they are suspected of a crime or have misused their authority. Police unions are responsible in part for the bad reputation police have received in recent years. Solution: Police unions should be dissolved.
As the saying goes, if you have one bad officer and a hundred good ones, what you really have is 101 bad officers.
Proposal #8: Trial By Jury For Police Officers
Problem: When an officer is accused of wrongdoing, they are subjected to an “internal investigation”. These investigations are an inherent conflict of interest. The police frequently circle the wagons and find "no wrongdoing" whatsoever in order to protect themselves. Solution: Police should be held accountable to a court of civilians, just like any other person who breaks the law. Instead of internal investigations, the police who have committed crimes should be subject to the same procedure as other citizens and not granted special treatment.
Proposal #9: Higher Standards For Police, Not Lower
Problem: Police officers are held to a lower standard and get more leniency for committing crimes than typical citizens. They often go with minimal or no consequences for criminal actions, including theft, rape, assault, battery, and even murder. Solution: If a police officer is caught committing a crime, they should go through the same process of a regular citizen. They should be arrested and put on trial. They should not be given special privileges or handed over to an “internal investigation”. See proposal #6. However, the consequences for police should be more severe than that of a typical citizen. People in authority or power should be held to a higher standard, not a lower one. When a leader or public official or person in a position of trust does an act that undermines the general trust, they should be removed from their position immediately. In addition, if their action (or lack of action) leads to the harm of an innocent person, that public official should face harsher penalties than a typical citizen.
“I am the greatest advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the earth. In my feelings I am always ready to die for the protection of the weak and oppressed in their just rights. The only fault I find with the Constitution is, it is not broad enough to cover the whole ground.
“Under its provision, a man or a people who are able to protect themselves can get along well enough; but those who have the misfortune to be weak or unpopular are left to the merciless rage of popular fury.
“The Constitution should contain a provision that every officer of the Government who should neglect or refuse to extend the protection guaranteed in the Constitution should be subject to capital punishment.”
~Joseph Smith
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