Find out how your locality compares in a cross-city analysis of policing practices
Use of Force Methodology | Independent Oversight Methodology | Co-optation by Immigration Enforcement Methodology | Budget Priorities Methodology
Use of Force Methodology
Center for Popular Democracy researchers evaluated each jurisdiction based on a full set of policy criteria as developed in the Reform/Transform toolkit in collaboration with policy experts and advocates. Because the original tool is lengthy and the questions are numerous, we organized the full list of questions into a smaller number of thematic groupings. This process yielded seven broader groupings of questions (which encompassed all of the sub-questions from the original, full-length tool). Finally, we developed a ranking system to differentiate jurisdictions’ performance based on how successfully their use of force policies fulfill these seven broad criteria. Because not all questions should be weighted equally (some criteria are more essential to giving a policy teeth than others), our ranking system reflects researchers’ judgements about what components are critical to real accountability based on research and previous conversations with policy experts.
On Track to a Strong Policy
For a jurisdiction to be placed in the top category, “On Track to a Strong Policy,” the use of force policy must:
- Explicitly express a commitment to preserve lives/protect the sanctity of life
- Establish a use of force continuum that defines types of force or weapons that can be used to respond to different types of resistance
- Put the following limitations on officers: ban chokeholds and strangleholds; require verbal warnings; prohibit from shooting at moving vehicles; and require officers to exhaust all reasonable alternatives before shooting
- Explicitly state that officers must, when possible, intervene to stop the use of excessive force
In addition, a jurisdiction in this category must have strong or moderately strong public reporting requirements.
Making Progress With Need for Improvement
For a jurisdiction to be placed in the middle category, “Making Progress with Need for Improvement,” the use of force policy must:
- Explicitly express a commitment to preserve lives/protect the sanctity of life
- Put at least some of the following limitations on officers: ban chokeholds and strangleholds; require verbal warnings; prohibit from shooting at moving vehicles; or require officers to exhaust all reasonable alternatives before shooting
In addition, a jurisdiction in this category must have strong or moderately strong public reporting requirements and must strongly or moderately fulfill at least one of the other seven criteria.
Significant Room for Improvement
To be placed in the bottom category, “Significant Room for Improvement,” a use of force policy:
- Does not explicitly express a commitment to preserve lives/protect the sanctity of life and/or
- Does not otherwise meet the above criteria
An acknowledgement: This project aims to evaluate policy and to give policymakers, organizers, and activists the tools to push stronger policies on police reform. We recognize that lived experience and implementation of policy are crucial in their own right and may well differ from the stated policy on the books.
