|
|
| Friday, July 8, 2016 08:47 AM |
| (Last updated on Friday, July 8, 2016 09:05 AM) | | Black Lives Matter |
 by Fëanor |
I've written the below and plan to send it to my local representatives. Feel free to copy and share if you'd like.
I am sick and tired of reading about the executions of black people in America by the people entrusted with their protection and defense. These are not random incidents. They are not tragic coincidences. This is a pattern of violence. This is a symptom of a systemic problem in our society that has existed since the beginning of our nation, and that problem is white supremacy. White supremacy must be dismantled. Our society must change.
I am writing to ask you to please support legislation and policies that will start the necessary process of dismantling white supremacy. As a first step, we must end police violence. Campaign Zero has a great summary of what we can do:
http://www.joincampaignzero.org/
I've used this site to find some current legislation that I will ask you to support. But I ask you also to put forward more legislation in support of these things:
1. End broken windows policing
- Decriminalize activities that do not threaten public safety
- End profiling
- Provide better resources for the mentally ill
2. Establish effective civilian oversight structures
- Remove barriers to reporting police misconduct
3. Limit the use of force by police
- Establish standards and reporting of police use of deadly force
- Revise and strengthen local police department use of force policies
- End traffic-related police killings
- Monitor how police use force and proactively hold officers accountable for excessive force
4. Independent investigations and prosecutions
- Lower the standard of proof for Department of Justice civil rights investigations of police officers
- Use federal funds to encourage independent investigations and prosecutions
- Establish a permanent Special Prosecutor's Office at the State level for cases of police violence
- Require independent investigations of all cases where police kill or seriously injure civilians
5. Community representation
- Diversity: Increase the number of police officers who reflect the communities they serve
- Use community feedback to inform police department policies and practices
6. Film the police
- Require that police wear and use body cameras
- Protect the rights of citizens to film the police
7. Training
- Invest in rigorous and sustained training around implicit bias, crisis intervention, mediation, conflict resolution, etc.
8. End for-profit policing
- End police department quotas for tickets and arrest
- Limit fines and fees for low-income people
- Prevent police from taking the money or property of innocent people
9. Demilitarization
- End the Federal Government's 1033 Program Providing Military Weaponry to Local Police Departments
- Establish Local Restrictions to Prevent Police Departments from Purchasing or Using Military Weaponry
10. Fair police contracts
- Keep officers' disciplinary history accessible to police departments and the public
- Ensure officers do not get paid after they kill or seriously injure a civilian
A specific message for New Jersey Assemblyman Louis D Greenwald and Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt:
New Jersey Assembly Bill A 2114 requires that police obtain a warrant to seize cell phone data. Please vote for this bill.
A specific message for New Jersey legislator James Beach:
New Jersey Senate Bill S 1105 prohibits law enforcement agencies from considering the number of arrests made and citations issued when evaluating a police officer's professional performance. Please vote for this bill. |
|
|
|
|
| Tagged (?): Politics (Not) | |
|
|
|
|
