Bella Pezzati

Institute a Public Health Approach to Substance Use Disorders

Non-violent individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) should be diverted from the criminal justice system to community-based treatment services. Public health approaches, rather than zero-tolerance or single-approach policies, should be used to prevent and reduce substance use disorders within the community.

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Support Officer Families

Police officers and their families must be supported by policies that meet inherent policing challenges, such as shift work and risks, and help establish and maintain healthy family relationships.

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Create a Culture of Active Bystandership

A culture that encourages early intervention and active bystandership and protects them against retaliation must be created. This will require strong anti-retaliation practices beyond the current legal minimum duty to intervene rules, regulations and laws, and include specific training on active bystandership that both improve police-community relations and ensures the health and safety of officers.

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Promote a Culture of Wellness for Officers

Comprehensive policies and practices should be adopted to promote a culture of officer wellness, including mandatory mental health days and non-punitive assessments. Assessments should promote officers’ physical, mental, and emotional health and wellness, which is an essential component of fair and equitable policing.

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Expand Tuition Reimbursement Programs

College education has been shown to reduce use of force, expanding college reimbursement programs to help hire the best officers and further their educational and promotional advancement.

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Improve Legitimacy Through Procedural Justice

Improve police legitimacy within communities by implementing procedural justice training and other practices emphasizing fairness and respectfulness principles.

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Research the Role of Implicit and Explicit Bias in Decision-Making

Research regarding implicit and explicit biases that exist in policing should (1) measure officer and leadership biases, (2) understand the role it plays in decision-making, and (3) determine how to mitigate its influence on policing outcomes, including police legitimacy.

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Conduct Research on Police Culture and Strategies to Change Culture

Research must be conducted on police culture, how it influences operations and outcomes, and how it can be changed. This research should identify all the elements of police culture and determine how to prioritize their implementation.

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Training and Certification Standards Should Support a Culture of Safety and Service

State training and certification requirements for new and current officers (including in-service training and continuing education) should be re-examined to ensure an emphasis on community safety and a spirit of service.

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Promote a Culture of Community Safety and Service

Law enforcement agencies should move away from an aggressive, control-oriented model of policing and towards a culture of community safety and service. This will require a review of community needs and the goals, policies, strategies, and performance metrics within each agency to ensure alignment with a safety and service model.

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