Trump’s presidency: A hiatus in consent decrees

Official portrait. Source: Wikimedia CommonsFor the final article in my series on how policing could change under President Trump, I’m going to look at the Department of Justice practice of using consent decrees to push for reform in local police departments. In this context, a consent decree is a binding agreement between a police department and the DOJ that is reached as a settlement after the DOJ sues the police department for an alleged pattern of civil rights violations. This is something that is widely expected to decline under Jeff Sessions’ leadership. Continue reading “Trump’s presidency: A hiatus in consent decrees”

Ask, tell, make: The United Airlines video and conflict management

By now, if you’re the sort of person who reads a blog about policing, you’ve likely seen the video taken by a passenger on a United Airlines flight, showing another passenger being dragged out of his seat and down the aisle of the plane, his glasses askew and his lip bloodied. This video has provoked outrage (both in the US and in China), calls for a boycott, and (of course) parody videos. Continue reading “Ask, tell, make: The United Airlines video and conflict management”