Criminal Justice Reform (Essay Sample)

Minneapolis Police Body Camera and Police Prosecution Procedures Student's Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Date Minneapolis Police Body Camera and Police Prosecution Procedures Introduction The developments leading to the death of George Floyd, an African American man, by Derek Chauvin, a White police officer, on 25 May 2020 caused an uproar across the international community. Nonetheless, these events spiked a more extensive conversation encompassing some criminal justice policies in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Based on the subsequent discussions, the two procedures that challenge the city include police body cameras and criminal prosecution of police officers. The events of Floyd's murder also prompted an investigation by the Justice Department, and the subsequent reports indicated that police in the city engaged in unlawful discrimination against Blacks and Native American people (Londonno et al., 2023). Furthermore, the scathing report suggested that the police failed to take arrestees' health complaints seriously, leading to adverse developments, especially when individuals are placed under police custody. These developments invoke the need for deliberations on measures that could help avert similar cases. Because of the tumultuous past, the City of Minneapolis is under close watch of the international community. The criminal justice system is under significant pressure to implement effective and long-term solutions (Londonno et al., 2023). Furthermore, the criminal justice system in the City of Minneapolis is subject to substantial reforms to ensure that police get to exercise their roles and responsibilities as per constitutional provisions. Policy Challenges in Minneapolis Criminal Justice Body Camera Part of the dialogue on criminal justice policies in Minneapolis regards the challenges associated with the policies. On the one hand, the policy encompassing police body cam has challenged the city, especially following the regulations and compliance by the police to follow the standards procedures. Some problematic aspects Minnesota's Department of Justice reported include privacy concerns, data storage and management, public trust, and officer compliance (Schumm, 2017). The last reason is more significant, especially the racially motivated killings by police within the city. While the police are required to comply with the set standards and procedures, which include ensuring that their cameras are consistently active and functional, emerging reports reveal the contrary. The cases of police defying this requirement are significantly high, especially in cases involving African-American arrestees (Buchholz, 2021). As such, the cases compel the need to assess the possibilities of racial motivations as the cause of unscrupulous behavior demonstrated by the police. Criminal Prosecution of Police Members of the public and oversight institutions have also raised concerns encompassing the criminal prosecution of police in Minneapolis. The key motivation for this option is to encourage responsibility and accountability in the police units, especially following the need to reduce the cases of prejudice against members of minority races. Under this issue, the critical aspects of deliberation include qualified immunity, prosecutorial discretion, police union influence, and use of force policies (Buchholz, 2021). Whenever police officers are set for prosecution, they are likely to rely on either of the noted bases to overturn their case. Consequently, with the low rate of police prosecution in the city, even after committing heinous crimes against innocent community members, they do not face the pending consequences. Based on the reports released following Floyd's death, such incidents were commonplace in the city. The emotionality and public outcries attributed to Chauvin's actions, kneeling on Floyd's neck, leading to his death, was the primary reason the Minnesota justice system sought to review the prosecution rule. The lack of substantial prosecution of rogue police in Minnesota has significant implications, considering that they provide bigger motivations for non-compliance and more injustices to the targeted communities. Policy Solutions Body Cam The concerns resulting from the body camera and criminal prosecution prompt the need for effective solutions that could aid in reducing incidents reported in the past. On the one hand, a solution for the body cam procedure should be oriented towards ensuring that police officers comply with the set regulations and, more so, they partake in their responsibilities within the desired standards (Berman, 2022). Based on this consideration, a solution for this policy area should include mandatory activation and deactivation protocol. Under this consideration, the officers would be required to observe a specific period that the camera must be on. Within this regulation, they must report to an oversight body that they have activated or deactivated their bodycams. When deactivating the gadgets while on duty, they should provide a reason. The failure to comply with this requirement should attract a significant fine that would be taken out of their salaries. However, to implement this requirement, the police department must incorporate new equipment into the gadget, notifying the department about the status of the body cams. The supervisors will also play a part in this solution, considering that they must confirm and record any developments that transpire when the body cameras are deactivated or alerts fail. Consequently, the feedback provided through the body cams would be subject to auditing and reviews, helping to determine the possible changes that can help improve accountability. Criminal Prosecution of Police The criminal prosecution of police is also a critical area that requires implementing a practical solution that could increase the department's accountability level. The solution in this area involves review of shortcomings that undermine the possibility of prosecuting police officers. Under this consideration, improving the prosecution standards is the best solution to address the problem (Onookome-Okome et al., 2023). Considering that in the past, more police officers have managed to circumvent the law in their favor, it is imperative to increase the standards that police must meet when dealing with suspects. As ...