The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Donnelly: Police reform requires the best and the brightest
By Ann Donnelly
Published: September 6, 2020, 6:01am
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Vancouver’s new Task Force on Policing has a chance to help reinforce the safety and justice of our community and sustain both for the future. No issue is more urgent. Use-of-force events by police have become more frequent, including three fatal shootings. Delayed or insufficient attention to mental health and drug abuse solutions have left crises on our streets to be handled largely by law enforcement.
The task force, meeting this month, includes participants with qualifications in mental health and advocacy for minority and vulnerable communities. Joining them are Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, City Manager Eric Holmes, Councilors Sarah Fox and Erik Paulsen, Police Chief James McElvain, and representatives of the command and police guilds.
With such deep, diverse experience tackling the problem, Vancouver may aspire to provide a much-needed example for Washington and Oregon.
The task force has a daunting mandate: to review and evaluate a head-spinning array of recommendations contained in an independent study by the city’s contractor, the Police Executive Research Forum, covering reporting, documentation, supervisory roles and responsibilities in use-of-force incidents. To read the report — and I recommend doing so — is to be reminded that we expect a great deal of our law enforcement personnel, justifiably.
There are so many ways beyond the control of police for such crises to go wrong. We need the best and brightest to join law enforcement if the recommended reforms are to work well. But will the highest quality women and men join?
The math of police recruitment is simple. To maintain a stable force, police must hire at least as many good new recruits as the number of personnel retiring or resigning. Any city growth or planned improvements in coverage adds to recruitment targets.
But in many U.S. cities, the equation is tilting dangerously toward retirements and resignations. Newsweek recently reported applications to become a police officer are down 60 percent nationwide.
Informed sources in Vancouver law enforcement tell me the last few years have been the worst for recruitment here in decades. Some experts are skeptical that shifting funding away from police functions toward much-needed mental health and drug addiction professionals will benefit the reform effort, since police are commonly needed to back up other professionals. All skills are needed.
On the positive side, Vancouver’s starting salaries — $5,800 to $7,800 per month with bonuses for lateral transfers — are said to be viewed favorably by potential recruits. Situated between chaotic Portland and troubled Seattle, Vancouver should have a regional advantage in attracting new hires.
Why don’t more men and women become police officers? Most of us simply lack the courage. For those who have what it takes, reasons to take on the challenges likely include the lure of serving those in greatest need, launching a criminal justice career, or performing a labor of love while receiving a good salary. The benefits must balance the risks.
While today’s office workplaces have rules regulating personal behavior, police may face crowds screaming threats and slurs, throwing bodily fluids or solids, pointing eyesight-endangering lasers, bricks, rocks, or firebombs. Split-second errors or actual misconduct by officers could cost a career, a prison term, or the officer’s life. Police officers killed have increased 28 percent this year.
Law enforcement must offer appropriate salary, workplace conditions, respect, and long-term satisfaction to balance the risks. Vancouver’s task force, as it considers complex recommendations, cannot take for granted a sufficient supply of good applicants.
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