In nearby Montgomery County, Council Member Will Jawando introduced a bill the same day that would require officers to complete a training course on racial equity, social justice and de-escalation tactics.
A few days prior, officials in Prince William County, Virginia, greenlighted additional funds for a police department pilot program in which officers and behavioral health clinicians co-respond to certain 911 calls.
The changes are part of ongoing efforts to reshape the role of policing.
The District’s six-month pilot program begins in June and is one of the 90 recommendations included in the city’s police reform commission report titled “Decentering Police to Improve Public Safety.”
D C Police Reform Commission calls for redirecting funds
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D C Police Reform Commission calls for redirecting funds
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The D.C. Police Reform Commission released a 259-page report with dozens of recommendations on Thursday, including educing the size of the city s Metropolitan Police Department.
The group recommended that a congressional mandate that requires the city s police department have at least 3,000 officers be done away with. Decentering police requires shifting our collective focus and resources to invest far more in community-centered programs that prevent harm, while simultaneously realigning and reducing the size, responsibilities, and budget of MPD in line with a narrower scope of work for police, the commission wrote in its recommendation.
ADVERTISEMENT This shift must occur strategically: a smaller MPD does not guarantee a more community-responsive, less harmful, and ultimately more effective department, it wrote.