Police reform isn't optional, and why HR must be involved

Police reform remains a controversial topic in the public because, to many, it implies animus toward police officers. In the world of local government, however, the issue isn’t really whether there will be new approaches to policing as we know it but what the changes will be.

3 reasons why police reform is so difficult

First, it has become nearly impossible to recruit for the job as it’s currently defined. Local governments are throwing increasingly large amounts of money at police unions to recruit and retain officers, but even the hefty sums are having a limited effect on expanding the overall pool of people interested in the work.

Second, unbeknownst to most people in the public, police unions and local governments mostly agree on at least one tenet of police reform: Police officers are poorly equipped to deal with mental health and substance abuse issues. Whether the solution lies in moving cases out of the criminal justice system entirely or creating combined models in which the officers work with mental health professionals, no one thinks the status quo is acceptable.

Finally, while many perceive “the pressure is off” because of COVID-19 and a current spike in crime, the push for reform will inevitably return as more people die from incidents of alleged excessive force.

How HR pros can help