Ferguson Commission recommends drastic overhaul of city policing system
Source: The Guardian
A drastic overhaul of policing and the criminal justice system in Ferguson, Missouri, and the surrounding region is needed to address the unfair treatment of black residents, according to a panel established by the state’s governor after last year’s civil unrest.
The Ferguson Commission on Monday blamed sharp racial disparities, which it said also extended through “housing, health, education, and income”, for turning the St Louis region into a tinder box that was ignited by the fatal shooting by police of an unarmed 18-year-old.
“We know that talking about race makes a lot of people uncomfortable,” the panel said, in a report based on an inquiry conducted over more than nine months. “But make no mistake: this is about race.” The 16-person commission said it had found repeatedly that “our institutions and existing systems are not equal, and that this has racial repercussions”.
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Among dozens of other recommendations, the panel called for the consolidation of St Louis County’s fragmented police and courts system, under which 60 separate police departments and 81 different courts oversee a little more than 1 million people.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/14/ferguson-commission-drastic-policing-overhaul