In an article by Boer Deng & Jessica Lussenhop for the BBC, entitled “George Floyd death: What US police officers think of protests” the opinions of several veteran US police officers in regard to the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd is explored. The article focuses on the specific issue of Leadership, tactics and culture. Former NYC police officer Charles Billups notes that “the problems lie at the top” where police leadership is still following the so-called ‘broken windows’ theory of policing, with its emphasis on tough law and order enforcement approach to policing. This approach is increasingly seen as a key factor in the breakdown of police-community relations in the United States, particularly with black and other minority communities who feel unjustly targeted by the approach. In the article, an embedded video entitled “What happened when a city disbanded its police force”, looks at the approach taken on Camden, New Jersey, where the police have taken a completely new approach based on strong community engagement, consent and a focus on de-escalation training. The new culture has led to significant improvements in overall crime rates and a much more inclusive community and police relationship. The experience in Camden ties in to a final idea of re-examining the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, which was adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1957, which is described as a “product of the crime-control era and is singularly focused on [law] enforcement”. The re-writing of the Code of Ethics based on Hippocratean principles, “incorporating four key themes… evidence-based policing; crime prevention; professional identity; and the sanctity of life” is a suggestion that ties in with the ethos and culture of Consent Based Community Policing, that we at Themis Group believe is an achievable and sustainable approach for policing not only in the United States, but indeed, worldwide. The excellent article can be found here on the BBC News website and the Video about Camden is well worth a watch. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53159496?fbclid=IwAR0AtIOxUGMbNnDZ9gqZAI11hmi40v41iLPCHy4HOqy6iwgkMrI7fxdtf5k
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