"De-Funding" and "De-Biasing": A Comparative Analysis of Two Models of Police Reform

Abstract

Despite legal enjoinments and social efforts, bias persists within the public sphere of law enforcement, with people of color most disproportionately affected. Recent protests over highly publicized police killings have led to a call for "de-funding" police departments. Some departments have responded to the call for change. But although there has been a response, it is often in the form of internal changes and "de-biasing" measures. Defunding measures have remained, for the large part, in the proposal stage. However, both models have potential to be effective change mechanisms. Therefore, this paper looks at two examples of defunding measures and two examples of debiasing measures through a comparative analysis. The case studies of debiasing models reveal how to actual police departments have used internal measures to approach reform. And, with an analysis of two defunding models proposed but not yet implemented, a future approach is analyzed as well. By examining both internal reform measures that seek to change the way police do their jobs and proposals that reassigned those jobs to other agencies altogether, a more complete picture of reform proposals will emerge. As the two pathways to reform satisfy different goals and exhibit different strengths and weaknesses, they could therefore be used in tandem to target and more effectively eliminate bias in policing. Any comparison between defunding proposals and debiasing initiatives must start with the fact that the two approaches have a fundamental difference. Namely, the debiasing measures alter how police departments discharge their existing job duties, and defunding proposals alter who actually discharges that duty. The outcomes of each type would by nature be different. So, pitting one against the other seems like a poor frame for analysis. However, this thesis explores how the two can work in tandem to target and eliminate bias in policing. Defunding measures that remove police from a situation altogether without acknowledging why this was done and engaging the officers in training process to address issues of bias could leave bias untouched within a department.