As police reform stalls at the federal level, some blue states are forging ahead with their own law enforcement overhauls.
State-level police reforms went into effect on Friday in Maryland. One day earlier, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a raft of reforms that will change the rules for police conduct across the state.
Both sets of reforms were aimed primarily at increasing scrutiny of incidents involving officers in the field, adding layers of bureaucracy to misconduct allegations.
POLICE STRUGGLE WITH RECRUITING NEW OFFICERS TO EMPTY ACADEMIES
In California, the reforms established procedures for stripping the badges from officers found to have engaged in misconduct by a civilian advisory panel.
The new reforms also expanded a ban on using chokeholds, raised the minimum age for new officers to 21 from 18, and placed restrictions on the use of tear gas and rubber bullets in crowd control situations.
In Maryland, the police reforms that took effect this week were vetoed earlier this year by the state’s Republican governor and then passed again by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
The reforms require, among other things, that the state attorney general’s office take over the investigation of all fatal police-involved shootings. The reforms also open up all officers’ personnel files to public records requests, including records of complaints for which an officer has been cleared of wrongdoing.
Police groups in both states opposed the laws, arguing that the additional requirements would impede the ability of officers to operate in the field.
The California Police Chiefs Association argued that the new standards expanded and poorly defined the types of activity that constitute police misconduct, and the group also questioned whether a politically appointed civilian advisory board could adjudicate decisions with objectivity and expertise.
Clyde Boatwright, president of the Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police, told local station WBAL that the state’s reforms would likely hurt efforts to attract new officers.
“We don’t have people warming up in the bullpen ready to come into the game,” Boatwright said. “It does not exist now because this profession is so unattractive to our young people. This is an all-time low, and every police department is struggling to hire people.”
Police recruitment has become a challenge for departments across the country as interest in law enforcement careers dwindles amid continuing negative attention on police.
The inability of police forces large and small to hire new officers has exacerbated staffing shortages caused over the past year by a rapid increase in officers retiring or switching industries altogether.
In Austin, Texas, a combination of staffing shortages and police reform demands from activists resulted in a new policy, which took effect on Friday, that discourages members of the public from calling 911 unless in immediate danger.
The Austin Police Department said it would no longer send uniformed officers to a range of calls from the public, including incidents involving theft, prostitution, or home invasions that aren’t actively in progress.
Other cities are in various stages of considering police reforms that critics say could hamper law enforcement at a time when violent crime is on the rise nationwide.
In Minneapolis, voters will decide in November whether to approve a ballot measure abolishing the police department altogether and replacing it with a community-focused department of public safety.
In Boston, officials are preparing to consider recommendations from a police reform task force that called for the Boston Police Department to expand body camera use, establish an independent office to investigate misconduct, and focus on “diversity and inclusion.”
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Police reform talks on Capitol Hill dragged on for months before collapsing last week, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers involved in the negotiations acknowledging the stalemate.
The two sides hit impassable roadblocks on use of force restrictions and legal protections for police officers accused of misconduct, among other issues.
