4.11 Police Accountability: Reducing Discretion
Tiffany Morey; Kate McLean; and Franklyn Scott
Reducing Traffic Stops
The nonprofit organization Mapping Police Violence [opens in a new tab] collects and publishes data on individuals killed by police in the United States. Many of the thousands of people who die at the hands of police each year are killed in the course of a traffic stop, and this might be prevented through different policies. Specifically, several larger policies have begun testing new policies that reduce traffic stops for minor violations, such as a broken taillight or failure to signal. These policies operate under the theory that reducing low-level police-citizen interactions will reduce situations that escalate unpredictably, leading to violence.
In the News: Williard’s Bill
From the Louisiana Illuminator — A New Orleans lawmaker intended to reduce the reasons why police can stop people to ease the financial impact of ticket fees on low-income drivers. But negotiations with law enforcement stripped down the proposal to a bare-bones version that advanced Tuesday from a Louisiana Legislature committee. This article from The Louisiana Illuminator [opens in a new tab] discusses Williard’s Bill.
