Police Reform
1. A Quick Overview
It is no secret, our concept of ‘police’ needs to be reimagined.
The Free Republic of California has created ten tenants of change necessary to address this multi-faceted problem:
The Ten Tenants of Police Reform
1. The role of the police is to be positive, not punishing.
2. The community and the police are one and the same.
3. The police cannot be militarized.
4. The job of policing requires in-depth education and training commensurate with the seriousness of the position.
5. The police cannot act as mental health responders.
6. The police cannot act as medical responders.
7. Deadly force is not an option.
8. Body cameras are not optional.
9. No knock warrants are not valid.
10. Police conduct records cannot be sealed.
Additionally, certain reforms are codified in the Constitution:
Article 2, Section 2 states:
No one shall be sentenced to death, tortured or otherwise treated in a manner violating human dignity.
This means what it says. Police cannot treat people in manners violating human dignity. A knee cannot be applied to a person’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
The Section continues:
The personal integrity of the individual shall not be violated, nor shall anyone be deprived of liberty, arbitrarily or without a reason prescribed by Act. A penalty involving deprivation of liberty may be imposed only by a court of law.
The Judiciary protects against authorities depriving people of their freedoms. The police cannot be the judge nor can the Legislature be the jury. In the same vein, please see the Sentencing & Prison Reform Activation Section for further analysis and infrastructural support.
Article 2, Section 4 states:
Privacy, honor and the sanctity of the home are guaranteed. The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, documents, data (digital or otherwise), recordings, and effects against unreasonable search and seizure shall not be violated and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and approved by the appropriate judicial overseer. A warrant shall be particular to the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized and authorities shall take care to not cause fear, violence, or the violation of other rights in the execution of warrants. If authorities violate such a standard, evidence gathered via the warrant shall be inadmissible in the courts of law.
This warrant clause holds the police to a high standard in their manner of executing warrants. Police can’t bust in, destroy property, cause fear, or instigate violence. This could have saved Breonna Taylor or Fred Hampton or thousands of others.
Our Free Republic Constitution in totality, as well as the commitment to the international human rights instruments of the U.N. also provide for an infrastructure bound to a different concept of governmental interaction with its citizenry. These legal instruments engender a non-violent communal existence, one where the police are helpful, akin to firemen or emergency room doctors, all part of a collective team for the benefit of society.
2. Influence Your Representatives
Write them all. It takes five seconds.
Here is some suggested text to use:
Dear _______________,
We entrust incredible responsibilities in our police. However, from the beginning, the structures, policies and mentality of our police forces has been incongruent with their stated goal of ‘protecting and serving.’ As a result, we are scared of the police. Many times, they are as intimidating, violent and cruel as any criminal. But, they are still the ones we call in times of fear. They still volunteer for youth basketball. They’re still part of our communities. As such, I ask that you consider these ten tenants of police reform:
1. The role of the police is to be positive, not punishing.
2. The community and the police are one and the same.
3. The police cannot be militarized.
4. The job of policing requires in-depth education and training commensurate with the seriousness of the position.
5. The police cannot act as mental health responders.
6. The police cannot act as medical responders.
7. Deadly force is not an option.
8. Body cameras are not optional.
9. No knock warrants are not valid.
10. Police conduct records cannot be sealed.
Please advocate for the codification of these tenants under the law. Our communities will be happier and safer.
Sincerely yours,
X
