Bay Area police reform takes halting steps but spike in violence complicates efforts
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Oakland police officers Bryant Ocampo and Daniel Cornejo-Valdivia patrol downtown in December.Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle 2020Show MoreShow Less
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Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong works in his office at the police station.Jessica Christian/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
In the year since George Floyd died, Bay Area cities have started to launch ambitious police reforms to rethink the role officers play in public safety.
Some critics say the process has been too slow, allowing abuses to continue, while others fear the reforms will go too far and make the area more dangerous.
Faculty and community leaders came together to discuss police reform and budget reduction in a Tuesday conversation co-sponsored by the Goldman School of Public Policy and UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix.
The conversation is part of the campus Reimagining Democracy Town Hall series, which seeks to increase public access to UC Berkeley’s expertise and contribute to timely political conversations. Tuesday’s town hall aimed to address police reform in the wake of national protests, particularly in response to the murder of George Floyd.
“There’s less agreement on the meaning of what could or should be abolished or defunded or what can be meaningfully reformed,” said Dan Lindheim, campus public policy adjunct professor, during the event. “This has advanced, as well as complicated, the crucial debate about the appropriate role of police and policing in our society.”