003 Top Priority | Policing & Criminal Justice Reform

Police are meant to protect and serve by upholding public safety and human dignity. In ep003 of Top Priority you will learn more about the Stand Together Community’s positive vision for policing that builds trust and collaboration between the police and the communities they serve.

Show: 003 Top Priority Podcast | Policing & Criminal Justice Reform  
Date Recorded: May 20, 2020
Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education, Grassroots Leadership Academy
Guests: Brianna Walden, Associate Director for Criminal Justice Reform, Stand Together

Show Notes & Timestamps
  • What are the five categories of Criminal Justice Reform? min [1:05]
  1. Overcriminalization – What are the laws on the books and how does the proliferation of laws over criminalizes the citizenry?  
  2. Policing – How are the laws being enforced in communities?
  3. Due Process – Are those being accused of a crime afforded their Constitutionally guaranteed rights?  
  4. Sentencing – Is the punishment proportional to the crime? 
  5. Prison and reentry – How to prioritize rehabilitation and allow the formerly incarcerated the best chance to be contributors in society? 
  • What is the entire portfolio of policing and over-policing? min [5:05] 
  • What are non-criminalizing alternatives to keeping communities safe? min [8:40] 
  • What is Civil Asset Forfeiture and Policing for Profit? min [10:41]
  • 3 things that erode trust and collaboration between the police and communities: min [19:02] 
  1. The number of laws on the books forces police to have to enforce bad laws, over criminalizes the citizenry, creates unnecessary points of contact between the police and community members, and diverts scarce justice system resources away from serious and violent crimes.  
  2. Perverse incentives like Civil Asset Forfeiture, arrest quotas, and qualified immunity. 
  3. A negative police culture such as a code of silence and intervention from police unions that stifles change,
  • How our Community views Policing through the lens of the first mutually-reinforcing principle—Equal Rights. min [25:05]
  • How our Community views Policing through the lens of the second mutually-reinforcing principle—Mutual Benefit. min [29:20]
  • How our Community views Policing through the lens of the third mutually-reinforcing principle—Openness. min [30:40]
  • How our Community views Policing through the lens of the third mutually-reinforcing principle—Self-Actualization. min [33:35]
**Additional Resource**