Skylar Gillette
Pronouns: they/them
Research Mentor(s): Daicia Price
Research Mentor School/College/Department: MI University of Michigan / Social Work
Program: UROP
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors:
Abstract
Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castille, George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Andre Hill, and countless other unarmed Black people have been killed by police. Despite public outcry for prosecution, fewer than 3% of police-sanctioned killings ever get charged (Mapping Police Violence, 2023). While some departments have implemented new standards of conduct or implemented the use of body worn cameras (BWCs), 2022 had the highest number of police killings in the last decade leaving many to wonder how police culture can better be addressed, dismantling the perpetual police-sanctioned violence. This research gives a brief review of suggested policy changes, why the implementation of said policies seem inefficient, and ultimately uses the War on Drugs as a loose case study of changing police culture. After all, despite all criticisms of the ineffectiveness of policing standards implemented through the shift toward mass surveillance, policing, and incarceration at reducing drug use or crime rates, the intentional movement in culture was wildly effective. In the effort to undo mass surveillance and discriminatory policing, this research looks at how police culture shifted to where it is today, the leadership mechanisms used in that cultural shift, and policy changes which ensured relative permanency to that shift. In doing so, one can better understand the science behind cultural shift, particularly as it pertains to policing. Using similar mechanisms or learning from past mistakes, it is proposed that police culture can be shifted away from the mass surveillance, policing, and incarceration that’s become the status quo. The research involved includes literature review ranging from scientific experiments to policy changes implemented in the field, increased funding and access of military weapons for police, minor Supreme Court and legislative review, and data review of police killings and their breakdown. Additionally, this research uses Harvard Business Review’s research of implementing company change in drawing both analogous and literal parallels between police and corporations in regard to bringing about successful cultural change. Finally, this research used the War on Drugs to explain both strong points and weak points of current movements toward police reform, and proposes areas of improvement to create a more successful cultural change.
