The Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform supports the verdict in the trial against former officer Derek Chauvin, and hopes the outcome leads to meaningful reform. There is some solace in holding officers accountable when they break the law, but the systemic problems in criminal justice will not be solved through a single conviction. We remain greatly saddened by the death of George Floyd and the unrest that has followed as citizens express their righteous indignation at the needless death of another person of color at the hands of police.

For every high-profile incident that gains widespread media coverage, as with George Floyd, there are many more families torn apart by fatal encounters between police officers and citizens that receive almost no attention. In nearly every case, our nation’s lack of adequate training requirements and outdated policies merge, create needlessly confrontational and often violent interactions.

Although the city of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota have higher than average training requirements, these standards remain inadequate. We encourage legislators to address the insufficient training minimums at both the city and state level. Currently, the State requires only 1,080 hours of basic training; far less when compared to other professions who are not responsible for life and death decisions.  Further, we call on the State of Minnesota to prohibit any militarized/paramilitary style training that encourages aggressive and non-empathetic policing.

We continue to implore our public leaders and safety officials to demand that police exhibit empathy and basic care, even for those suspected of violating the law. We advocate that lawmakers address training minimums, close training deferral loopholes, and pass meaningful criminal justice reform, including the use of deadly force. We encourage police leaders to take swift action to remove any officer who exhibits a lack of basic human care and decency in the performance of their duties.