ACLU Comment on Policing Task Force Recommendations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON – The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing today submitted its report to the White House on how to improve community policing practices after several high-profile events across the country this year where police killed unarmed black men. The report contains 59 recommendations to improve ties between law enforcement and local communities.

Kanya A. Bennett, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, had this reaction:

The majority of the recommendations in the report are ones that the ACLU has pushed for and stood behind for quite some time. Hopefully, the White House will accept these recommendations because we strongly believe they will significantly improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve, particularly communities of color. Most of the recommendations are essential and should be non-negotiable. For us to see meaningful change, local authorities must first implement data collection systems to improve transparency, use of force policies that emphasize de-escalation, eradicate all forms of biased policing, and improve community engagement and oversight to provide accountability.

The task force was created by an executive order on December 18, 2014.