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ABSTRACT
In light of the defund the police movement, it is imperative we consider what police reform could and potentially should look like. Some, for example, have called for a reduced police footprint in marginalised communities through reallocating police funding towards preventative services for a myriad of social issues. However, drawing on David Bayley’s Police for the Future, we show that a dilemma arises with respect to police involvement in these issues: the police cannot be solely relied upon to address all social issues, but they cannot be fully absolved of the responsibility either. As such, further drawing on Bayley’s thoughts for police reform, we instead argue for the adoption of evidence-based policing as a more fruitful driver of meaningful, long-term police reform as it not only enables the police to identify practices that are effective or even harmful, but it also can be used as means for police accountability.
Notes
1. What precisely caused Floyd’s death is currently disputed. One autopsy found that Floyd died as a result of asphyxiation, whereas a second autopsy found that Floyd died as a result of cardiac arrest. Both autopsies, however, ruled Floyd’s death as a homicide (Donaghue, Citation2020).
2. A recent randomised control trial in British Columbia, Canada found that by providing one, unconditional lump sum to individuals experiencing homelessness not only resulted in treatment group participants finding stable housing faster than those in the control group, but also had more cash savings, achieved faster food security, reduced spending on certain goods (i.e., alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs), and reduced reliance on social services (Zhao et al., Citation2020). While such results are promising, much more empirical works needs to be done to establish a firm evidence base in support of such activities.
3. AER is a subjective “ … threshold [that] combines both the degree of probable harm involved in any given situation, and the degree to which the operating risk factors involved cross multiple human service disciplines” (Russell & Taylor, Citation2014, p. 19).