Model Policy
The Justice Collaboratory’s Policy Model Series offers concrete proposals to those striving to achieve a community-centered justice system, one focused on promoting vibrancy over mere criminal control.
Entries in the series are concise, plainly worded, and reflect of the latest thinking by leading experts. Our models are intended to serve as templates for state and local laws, though their substance may also be incorporated into agency policies, regulations, and guidance.
Policy Models and Materials
Police Officer Standards and Training Commissions - A Study in Variability
Every state has some statewide body tasked with overseeing police officer standards and training. This study examines a geographically representative sample of 20 police officer standards and training (POST) bodies and presents findings and trends regarding the scope of their authority, the representativeness of their membership, and their ability to effectively oversee policing.
Defining State and Local Authority: An Entry in the Policy Model Series
Local and state regulation of policing is in need of significant reform. This model restructures how local and state governments divide their shared responsibility to make both more effective at overseeing policing.
Data and Transparency: An Entry in the Policy Model Series
Achieving real-world transparency in policing requires taking stock of current obstacles and taking advantage of emerging opportunities. This model prescribes a robust, meaningful, and economical transparency mandate for all modern police departments.
2022 NACOLE Webinar Series
For an inside look at our model state policing legislation, the Justice Collaboratory and the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) co-hosted a webinar with Jorge Camacho and Tracey Meares. They discussed recent trends and problems in policing regulation, while also offering insights into how structural reforms—like achieving immediate transparency and redefining how state and local governments oversee policing—can usher a new era of effective policing oversight.
Policing Regulations and Oversight: Trends, Problems, and Solutions
Date: 8/16/22
Panelists:
Jorge Camacho, Clinical Lecturer in Law and Policing, Law, and Policy Director of the Justice Collaboratory.
Tracey Meares, Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law and Founding Director of The Justice Collaboratory
Policing Conversation Series
Recorded in the fall of 2021, this series examined some of the most significant structural barriers to policing reform, including limitations on local control, lack of transparency, and gaps in civilian oversight. Through discussions with leading experts and practitioners, this three-part series identified policy-based solutions for overcoming these barriers. Moderated by Jorge Camacho, Clinical Lecturer in Law and Policing, Law, and Policy Director of the Justice Collaboratory.
The Preemption Problem: How states block local reform and what to do about it
Date: 11/3/21
Panelists:
Nestor Davidson - Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use, and Property Law and Faculty Director, Urban Law Center - Fordham Law School
Richard Bri ault - Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation - Columbia Law School
Rick Su - Professor of Law - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Law
Many reform-minded cities and towns have encountered a significant roadblock: state laws that are specifically intended to prevent local reform. What are these laws, where are they in effect, and how can the obstacles they present be surmounted?
Policing Data: What is it, what can we do with it, and why is it so hard to get?
Date: 11/15/21
Panelists:
Anna Harvey - President - Social Science Research Council and Professor of Politics - New York University
Jonathan Mummolo - Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs - Princeton University
The key to unlocking answers to some of policing’s most pressing questions lies in data held by police departments themselves. However, very little of this data is made public. This event identified what policing data is, what kinds of insights can be yielded from it, and how public access to it can be improved.
Civilian Oversight of Policing: The features and limits of current approaches
Date: 12/1/21
Panelists:
Gabe Davis - Executive Director, Cincinnati (OH) Civilian Complaint Authority
Regina Jackson - Chair, Oakland (CA) Police Commission
Sergio Perez - Executive Director, Orange County (CA) Office of Independent Review
Gianina Irlando - President, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
Improved civilian oversight has been a component of most police reform agendas for the better part of a century. But what do we mean by “civilian oversight,” and what are the characteristics of different oversight models? In this final event Policing Conversation Series, different approaches are reviewed and discussed as to how they fit into the policing accountability landscape.