PolicyCast

After the high-profile police killings of Black people like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and numerous others, polls show a majority of Americans say we need major changes to how police provide public safety. Policymakers and political leaders—under pressure from the Defund and Black Lives Matter movements—are now considering a variety of measures to protect civil rights and curb police brutality. But professors Sandra Susan Smith and Yanilda González say history shows that reforming the police is much easier said than done.