Campaign Zero

Campaign Zero is a police reform campaign proposed by activists associated with Black Lives Matter, on a website that was launched on August 21, 2015.[1] The plan consists of ten proposals, all of which are aimed at reducing police violence.[2] The campaign's planning team includes Brittany Packnett, Samuel Sinyangwe, DeRay Mckesson, and Johnetta Elzie.[3][4] The activists who produced the proposals did so in response to critics who asked them to make specific policy proposals.[2] Many of the policies it recommends are already in place as best practice policies of existing police departments.[5]

Campaign

Arriving on the heels of protests in Ferguson, New York, Baltimore, and elsewhere over cases of civilians being killed by police officers, Campaign Zero in August 2015 was launched as a "data-driven platform" with the goal of ending police brutality.[6][7] The same team had created the project MappingPoliceViolence.org four months prior, which tracked and mapped incidents of police violence.[8] Since its inception, Campaign Zero has collected and proposed policy solutions for police reform in ten areas:[9]

In November 2015, the campaign released its first research report, which examined the use of body cameras in police forces in 30 cities and the fairness, transparency, privacy, and accountability associated with body camera policies.[10] Data about the policies of 17 cities is maintained on a live spreadsheet.[11]

In December 2015, the campaign released a second report, a review of police union contracts in 81 cities, along with an associated campaign called "Check the Police" that seeks to mobilize activists to pursue changes in such contracts.[12][13] The report examined ways in which union contracts delay interrogations, allow officer personnel files to be erased, disqualify complaints, and limit civilian oversight.[14] An actively updated database of contracts and analysis is maintained by the campaign online.[15] In June 2016, the campaign continued its work on police union contracts with the release of its third report, "Police Union Contracts and Police Bill of Rights Analysis."[16] This report focused on use of force policies and evaluated protections in those policies for civilians.[16][17]

Reception

Because many of the policies Campaign Zero recommends are already in place in some police departments, Slate contributor Ben Mathis-Lilley has said that with the launch of its site, Campaign Zero "is saying to mainstream politicians: Here are some products that have been sold before—now do your job."[18] Harold Pollack has stated that the document in which the campaign announced its proposals is "a very useful and professional document", and that certain proposals it made, such as increasing police diversity and reducing the use of monetary punishments to raise revenue, seemed "particularly smart."[3]

On January 19, 2016, it was ranked as one of 20 tech insiders defining the 2016 United States presidential election by the staff of Wired.[19]

References

  1. Swaine, Jon (21 August 2015). "Protesters unveil demands for stricter US policing laws as political reach grows". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Cornish, Audie (26 August 2015). "Black Lives Matter Publishes 'Campaign Zero' Plan To Reduce Police Violence". NPR. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Pollack, Harold (24 August 2015). "A Crime and Policing Expert Critiques Black Lives Matter's Police-Reform Plan". New York Magazine. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  4. "Planning Team". Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  5. Friedersdorf, Conor (24 September 2015). "Will Black Lives Matter Be a Movement That Persuades?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  6. "The Problem". Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  7. Rao, Sameer (2015-08-24). "DeRay Mckesson, Johnetta Elzie and Co. Launch Campaign Zero To End Police Brutality". Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  8. "The Government Won't Track Police Killings, So This 24-Year-Old Took the Lead". Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  9. "Solutions". Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  10. Naasel, Kenrya Rankin (2015-11-05). "STUDY: How Police Departments Are Really Using Body Cameras". Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  11. "Police Body Camera Implementation Report". Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  12. Krithika Varagur Associate Editor, What's Working (2015-12-07). "How Black Lives Matter Activists Plan To 'Check The Police'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  13. "Police Union Contract Project". Check The Police. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  14. "Police Union Contract Review." Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  15. "Police Contracts Database". Check The Police. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  16. 1 2 "Police Union Contracts and Police Bill of Rights Analysis." Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  17. "Use of Force Policy Review." Campaign Zero. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  18. Mathis-Lilley, Ben (21 August 2015). "As of Today, Black Lives Matter Activists Can Point to a Thorough Police Brutality Reform Plan". Slate. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  19. Staff (19 January 2016). "Meet the 20 Tech Insiders Defining the 2016 Campaign". Wired. Retrieved 12 February 2016.

External links

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