Summary of the Reform, Shift + Build Act - An Act to Reform Police Standards and Shift Resources to Build a More Equitable, Fair and Just Commonwealth that Values Black Lives and Communities of Color
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Summary of the Reform, Shift + Build Act - An Act to Reform Police Standards and Shift Resources to Build a More Equitable, Fair and Just Commonwealth that Values Black Lives and Communities of Color
Executive Summary:
1. The Reform, Shift + Build Act strengthens use of force standards and limits qualified immunity for all law enforcement agents by: banning chokeholds; banning other deadly uses of force except in cases of imminent harm; requiring the use of de-escalation tactics; creating a duty to intervene for officers who witness abuse of force; and allowing police officers to be held civilly liable for excessive use of force. The bill will also expand and strengthen police training in de-escalation, racism and intervention tactics.
2. It creates a Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Committee (POSAC)—an independent state entity composed of law enforcement professionals, community members, and racial justice advocates—to standardize the certification, training, and decertification of police officers. The commission will have independent power to investigate misconduct. Certain offenses will result in mandatory and permanent decertification of an officer. The bill will also form a separate commission to recommend a certification, training, and decertification framework for correctional officers.
3. The bill bans the use of facial surveillance technology while a commission studies the use of such technology and makes recommendations to the legislature that will ensure accuracy as well as privacy and due process protections. The bill also creates a task force to study and make recommendations for the use of body and dashboard cameras by law enforcement agencies
4. The Reform, Shift + Build Act redirects funding away from policing and corrections towards community investment through the establishment of, and dedicated funding streams for, the Strong Communities and Justice Reinvestment Workforce Development Fund. Controlled by community members and community development professionals, the fund will make competitive grants to drive economic opportunities in communities most impacted by excessive policing and mass incarceration. The fund will receive damages from police overtime fraud cases and savings generated from reduced incarcerated populations.
5. To shift the balance of law enforcement techniques from force and punishment to de-escalation and community-centered responses, the bill seeks to demilitarize the police force by requiring transparency and civilian authorization for military equipment acquisitions.
6. The bill seeks to reduce the school-to-prison pipeline by promoting student safety and well-being over criminalization by ending the requirement that school districts employ School Resource Officers. It also prohibits school districts from sharing students’ personal information with police departments for gang databases. Further, the bill expands access to record expungement for young people by allowing individuals with more than one charge on their juvenile record to qualify for expungement.
7. The Reform, Shift + Build Act strives to build a more equitable, fair and just system by beginning to dismantle systemic racism. The bill seeks to address the racial disparaties in policing by banning racial profiling in law enforcement and requiring data collection to improve police practices. The bill specifically requires law enforcement agents to document each car or pedestrian stop and search. The data, and subsequent analysis, will be available to the public.
8. Along with introducing a police training requirement on the history of slavery, lynching and racism, the bill creates a permanent commission on the status of African Americans. This commission will, among other things, advise the legislature and executive agencies on policies and practices that will ensure equity for and address the impact of discrimination against African Americans.