For cities like Seattle, retreat from police reform would be ‘devastating’

Consent decrees that have been used to investigate police departments have led to what many would argue is critical reform, especially when it comes to use of force.

How city police departments with consent decrees are faring

The Seattle Police Department, for example, is operating under a court-appointed monitor that is scrutinizing nearly all aspects of policing, which includes how officers interact with the community and how they handle potential use-of-force situations.

But now, there are indications that the Trump administration is de-emphasizing these consent decrees going forward.

Vanita Gupta, who previously served as the head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, told Seattle’s Morning News warns that if the United States Department of Justice retreated from police reform, it would have nation-wide implications.

“It is quite troubling to see the justice department stepping away from that work,” she said. “Because it has been vitally important since the statute came into existence.”

What could be most troubling about this is the work of police departments going forward.

“There are police departments that have serious, systemic failures in accountability, in use of force, and the like,” Gupta said.

Though you might think there are plenty of departments pleased with this, Gupta says during the time she spent with police chiefs, she saw an understanding of the benefit of oversight. They recognize that without the trust of the communities they serve, they cannot truly engage in public safety, she said.

“Safety and trust and community-police relations are deeply intertwined,” she added.

But if de-emphasis continues, police may find it even more difficult to handle crime.

“It can have implications for officer safety, public safety, and community well-being,” she said.

She says a retreat from police reform and constitutional policing, “is a fundamental aspiration in this country. For the justice department to walk away from it would be pretty devastating.”

As for cities like Seattle, where consent decrees are already in place, those decrees can’t be terminated unless a federal judge rules otherwise.