Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro released his “People First” policing plan Monday morning, saying that "far too many lives have been tragically cut short at the hands of a broken police system."
Castro previewed the policy Saturday in San Francisco for MoveOn’s Big Ideas Forum, and he talked about policing in his January speech launching his campaign, lamenting at the time that “for far too many people of color, any interaction with the police can become fatal.
”How would it work?
Castro’s three-pronged plan focuses on ending “over-aggressive policing” and tackling racially discriminatory practices; holding officers accountable; and bridging the divide between law enforcement and their communities.
To change policing practices, Castro says he would:
• Establish national conduct standards for police officers and departments that receive federal funding
• Require pre-employment screenings to weed out applicants “who display bias, intolerance, or other behaviors or prejudices that may threaten public safety”
• Use technology such as body cameras to support responsible policing
• Require officers to identify themselves, give a verbal warning and allow a reasonable amount of time to comply before using force
• Restrict the use of deadly force to instances where there’s an imminent threat to someone’s life and require de-escalation procedures in other circumstances
• Require implicit bias training
• Work with Congress to pass legislation to prohibit racial profiling and stop-and-frisk policies, as well as legislation to lower the burden to prosecute officers for misconduct
To increase accountability, Castro says he would create a national public database to track all officers who have been decertified in any state or locality; collect and publicize disaggregated data on detentions, stops, frisks, searches, summons and arrests; investigate every fatal police shooting across the country; “proactively” probe police departments that consistently fail to meet policing standards; and curb “consequence-free” weapons discharges and arrests through strict reporting requirements.
And to improve the relationship between police and the communities they serve, Castro pledges to sign an executive order to de-prioritize enforcement of minor offenses and make other changes.
Who would it help?
The plan is aimed at preventing unjust police killings of unarmed people, which disproportionately affects people of color.
What have other Democrats proposed?
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has introduced the Next Step Act, a bill that builds off the First Step Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law. The Next Step Act would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders, bar employers from asking applicants about their criminal history until the final stages of the employment process, and allow people who have been incarcerated to vote in federal elections.
It would also provide law enforcement training in implicit bias, de-escalation and use of force; ban racial and religious profiling; and improve the reporting of incidents in which forced is used.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine