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Cops Cheered Trump's Return, But Can He Fix Their Problems?

Crime and Justice News

President-elect Trump's "back the blue" message resonated strongly with law enforcement. But can Trump's moral support translate into the kinds of improvements police seek? Trump can use money as leverage, NPR reports. His last administration tried to use federal grants to get local police to help with immigration enforcement. Joanna Schwartz, a UCLA law professor who has written about police accountability, says it's possible Trump and a Republican Congress could tie federal funds to greater immunity protection for officers, or more aggressive policing. There's also a general assumption that the Justice Department under Trump will refrain from threatening lawsuits to force cities into consent decrees — court-monitored reform plans for individual departments. The tactic was used most often by the Obama administration and stopped with the first Trump term. President Biden brought back consent decrees in principle, though his administration has yet to finalize a reform plan with any large police departments.


But it's been a few years since "defund the police" has been a common refrain, especially after violent crime spiked during the tail end of the pandemic. These days, many departments have trouble spending the funds they have, as they struggle to recruit and retain a full complement of officers. When Trump spoke in the campaign of unleashing cops to use "rough" tactics, that made some uncomfortable. At a minimum, this kind of talk affects how some people see the police, says Col. Jeffrey Glover of the Arizona Department of Public Safety and president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. "Saying, you know, 'Knock people over the head and have a bad day,' that is counterproductive to what we need to do in this country in terms of earning that trust with our community members." Laurie Robinson does not anticipate Trump will be able to reverse what she regards as the improvements in American policing in the decade since she co-chaired President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. "In areas like de-escalation, strengthening hiring to reflect communities, relationship with communities ... these advances will not turn backwards," she says. Retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Darrel Stephens, also with the Council on Criminal Justice, shares that optimism. "The reforms have not stopped at all, even during [Trump's] first administration. Those agencies that have changes that they need to make, I don't think will stop during his second administration," he says. "There just won't be federal oversight."

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A daily report co-sponsored by Arizona State University, Criminal Justice Journalists, and the National Criminal Justice Association

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