American cities have long struggled to reform their police – but isolated success stories suggest community and officer buy-in might be key

Thaddeus L. Johnson Natasha N. Johnson

April 30, 2021 |

The Conversation |

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Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

One police-reform program that outperformed and outlasted most cities' attempts was Cincinnati's "collaborative agreement," an unusual team effort focused on community involvement at every step. Sparked by a controversial police shooting of an unarmed Black man, the program went beyond federal government and court oversight to include other key stakeholders in the community and police unions. Changed policies on use of force, crime prevention, and police accountability led to lower crime, improved police-community relations, fewer injuries, and fewer racially biased traffic stops.

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Meet the influencers who are fighting the spread of online conspiracy theories

Christianna Silva

April 28, 2021 |

Mashable |

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Response Location: United States

Social media influencers are using “pre-bunking” -- the practice of exposing people to misinformation and offering expert-backed explanations of why it isn’t true before they see the misinformation in the wild – as a tool to fight its spread and increase media literacy. Hundreds of thousands of people follow accounts on TikTok and Instagram run by influencers whose goals are not to change the minds of staunch conspiracy theorists, but rather to provide tools for those who are either on the fence or want to learn to communicate with people in their lives who subscribe to false information.

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When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back

Nicole Dungca Jenn Abelson

April 27, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A favorite remedy for systemic police misconduct is a civilian oversight agency. More than 160 cities and counties have such agencies, some at the insistence of the U.S. Justice Department. But, as Albuquerque and multiple other cities have shown, a common set of factors often undermine the effectiveness of such agencies. These factors start with structural defects, limiting the agencies' independent investigatory and disciplinary powers, and extend to strenuous opposition from police unions and their political allies.

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Could a Citizens' Assembly Help Fix Your Democracy?

Joe Nerssessian

April 19, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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Response Location: France

France is among a growing number of countries piloting "citizens assemblies," in which a randomly-selected sample of citizens is tasked with reviewing and recommending potential responses to a pressing societal issue. The country's assembly on climate change resulted in more than 100 proposals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but because they were nonbinding, only about 40 percent of the recommendations were forwarded to parliament.

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The Mexican women who kicked out the cartels

Monica Wise Robles Richard Sprenger Katie Lamborn Charlie Phillips

April 15, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Mexico, Cherán, Michoacan

Ten years after the women of Cherán, an indigenous town in Michoacán, took up arms to lead an uprising against criminal cartels, their town is an "oasis" of low crime in a region otherwise beset with violence. The town declared itself autonomous and women now belong to the community police force that patrols the town and its surroundings. The cartels' illegal logging and extortion of businesses had corrupted local politicians and threatened a way of life. The town's men did nothing about it, so the women led the uprising that established order and kept the crime at bay.

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Once jailed, these women now hold courts accountable — with help from students, retirees and Fiona Apple

Katie Mettler

April 09, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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Response Location: United States, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Court Watch PG acts as a traditional court watch program for Maryland's Prince George's County, but with a twist: the two formerly incarcerated women running it turned adversity, in the form of the pandemic's shutdown of trials, into opportunity in the form of a nationwide crew of volunteers watching over Zoom. The watchers attend bond hearings, where people jailed on pending charges try to gain pretrial release. After observing thousands of hearings, Court Watch PG has exposed flaws in the system, which it pushes to reform through the more than 100 "accountability letters" it has sent justice officials.

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A California town was promised police reform – then police got involved

Aaron Miguel Cantú

March 12, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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Response Location: United States, Chico, California

A series of killings by the police sparked a community-led movement urging greater accountability and better training. The campaign bore fruit when the Chico mayor formed a committee to examine use of force policies. While police-reform advocates got appointed to the committee, the panel was dominated by the police and their political allies. Use of force policies never got examined. The city, in fact, ended up giving the police more resources and power. One policing critic concludes from this episode that professionalizing the police without scrutinizing their mission is bound to fail.

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43 Cases, No Convictions: Prosecuting the Police Falters in New York

Jonah Engel Bromwich Sarah Maslin Nir Benjamin Weiser

February 26, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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Response Location: United States, New York

In the more than five years since New York's governor ordered the attorney general to take charge of investigations and prosecutions when police kill unarmed people, only three police officers have been charged with crimes and none has been convicted. By taking control of such cases away from local prosecutors, officials hoped to instill greater trust in outcomes, because of the close ties local prosecutors have with local police. But the narrow scope of the rule establishing the special prosecutions unit, plus a host of other systemic and legal barriers, have meant that the outcomes have not changed.

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How new technology is helping to identify human rights abuses in the seafood industry

Virginia Gewin

February 25, 2021 |

The Counter |

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Response Location: Ghana

A growing number of governments, companies, and nonprofit organizations are working together with new technology and data to identify fishing vessels that are breaking laws and engaging in human rights violations. Using satellite imagery and tracking signals, for example, a philanthropic company and a nonprofit worked with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to help the Ghanian navy arrest four vessels for illegal fishing practices. Technology by itself won’t stop forced labor and unregulated ships, but it can be helpful for cash-strapped governments looking to increase oversight of their fisheries.

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City governments in Kansas didn't launch the tech revolution. But they're embracing it

Stan Finger

February 23, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

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Response Location: United States, Kansas

City websites have embraced technology, allowing residents to pay bills, request permits, and attend council or commission meetings online. The shift, which was accelerated by the pandemic, also made the websites crucial information hubs, informing residents about everything from tax increases to street closings. The shift increased efficiency, for example decreasing in-person visits to City Hall, reporting problems like potholes any time, and officials are fielding fewer calls because information is readily accessible. Conducting business online also led to greater transparency into city business.

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