Ferguson's good news: reform is so strong that police depts are closing down

[uhnope]

Score one for protests, outrage, social/racial justice and having a system and government that can still respond when things get bad enough. Still a long way to go but at least we got this far

Ferguson Traffic Fines Reform Is Having A Surprising Side Effect

A tiny Missouri town disbanded its police department last week, acknowledging that its old way of operating was untenable under a new state law restricting towns in St. Louis County from using cops, courts, and speed traps as a money mill.

Facing the loss of the traffic fines and court fees it relied upon for funding, the town of Charlack, MO, is dissolving its tiny police force and contracting out from a new player on the law enforcement scene in the St. Louis area. The North County Police Cooperative (NCPC), an outgrowth of neighboring Vinita Park’s own police force, will take over responsibility for the handful of streets that make up tiny Charlack.

Charlack isn’t the first town to dissolve its force in recent months, and it likely won’t be the last either. Starting in the next fiscal year, St. Louis County governments will have to prove that they get less than 12.5 percent of all operating revenue from fines and fees related to minor traffic violations.

The law was prompted by federal investigations in the wake of Ferguson, MO police officer Darren Wilson’s killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in 2014. Those inquiries revealed vast racist abuses. Chief among them is the systematic exploitation of the traffic court system to ensnare drivers – predominantly people of color and low means – with significant fines and court fees for minor traffic violations, essentially converting area police from public safety officers to revenue collectors.

READ MORE http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/10/20/3713968/ferguson-charlack-police-consolidation/

[merrily]

1. The old system was Dickensian and shameful.