Task Force Members on 21st Century Policing Call for Action on the Third Anniversary of the Murder of George Floyd

CHICAGO, May 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 25, the third anniversary of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police, the co-chairs of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Laurie Robinson and Charles Ramsey, called for steps to transform policing through a whole of government and whole of community approach.

Reflecting on Floyd's murder, Ramsey, former Commissioner of Police in Philadelphia, called on law enforcement organizations throughout the country "to examine the actions they have taken to strengthen trust between the community and police." 

The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, was first convened by President Obama in 2014 and ended in May 2015. Following the beating death of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, in January, 2023, Co-Chairs Laurie Robinson and Charles Ramsey invited members of the original Task Force to reconvene to address the issues of police accountability, the culture of policing, and community safety that continue to challenge efforts to reform our criminal justice system.

Some members of the former Task Force prepared a Renewed Call to Action with eight recommendations and action steps that focus on accountability, transparency, culture, the development of national standards, and the important role of local government in developing a whole of government and whole of community approach to transformational policing. The Renewed Call to Action was released on April 25, 2023.

The Call to Action, Robinson, former Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, said, is "a blueprint for transformation that will change the way we protect our communities against violent crime and provide our communities with the tools to restore trust."

Sean Smoot, managing partner of 21 CP Solutions and member of the Task Force said: "We must remain vigilant in our efforts to build trust between communities and police. This Call to Action is a major step in the right direction. This is about changing the culture of law enforcement and we need strong leadership."

Recommendations in the Renewed Call to Action included:

1. Establish a holistic role and mission of policing to help define community safety.
2. Align policing leadership, organizational structure, incentives, and strategies to the redefined mission
3. Rebuild the culture of policing organizations.
4. Establish national policing standards; train to those standards; and provide supervision to ensure their application.
5. Address gaps in accountability systems that protect due process of officers while ensuring transparency and accountability for misconduct.
6. Invest locally and organize communities to address unjust systems that contribute to poverty and racism.
7. Address underlying drivers of crime.
8. The federal government should collaborate and support community-based organizations and local and state government in helping to create safe communities as outlined in this call to action.

The recommendations have a series of action steps that when implemented, could better define community expectations and create accountability with police.

"Reflecting on the death of George Floyd should serve as a reminder," said Ramsey. "That the work of police reform is an ongoing process, one that requires the work of all of government -- and all of our communities."

For a copy of the full Call to Action click on the following link: https://www.21cpsolutions.com/21stcentury-policing

Contact: James E Copple
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 301 455 0654

SOURCE 21CP Solutions, LLC