myAIPMRethinking police reform: From defunding to promoting sustainability
Policing Insight | Prof Angela Workman-Stark
Although calls for police reform have reduced since the jailing of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, the issues that prompted those calls have not gone away; but Associate Professor Angela Workman-Stark of Athabasca University believes that creating alternative sustainable development goals and metrics for policing – rather than defunding agencies – could achieve the desired change.
Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd on June 25, 2021. Since then, calls for police reform haven’t been as loud. One explanation might be attributed to the language of ‘defund the police’. This slogan has been polarizing, alienating police and other stakeholders from crucial conversations about change. The never-ending pandemic and an increased focus on climate change may also have helped stall talks; however, the issues that led to the many calls for change have not gone away, nor are they new.
Calls for reform
Since the 1980s – and throughout my 24 years of policing experience – recruitment of diverse officers and diversity training have been consistently identified as key to improving police-minority relations.