Prof. Pearson: To Win Back Trust Between Citizens and Police, Restructure City Law Enforcement
June 14, 2019
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
Bridal Pearson, lecturer in the University of Baltimore's School of Health and Human Services and chair of the Baltimore Civilian Review Board, comments in The Baltimore Sun that the city's ongoing Gun Trace Task Force scandal is rooted in the shift to zero tolerance of criminal behavior and the establishment of an "us vs. them" mentality between citizens and police.
In an article about the continuing legal fallout of the GTTF, Prof. Pearson says the aggressive behavior of plainsclothes police is part of a culture that must change if trust in local law enforcement is to be rebuilt.
"It will continue in different forms if they’re not restructured," he said of the call for plainscothes units to be reformed, if not dismantled completely.
Prof. Pearson has described the Baltimore Civilian Review Board as the "only entity authorized to conduct independent investigations of alleged police misconduct filed by members of the public." He has called for the board to have a higher public profile and to be granted more authority and resources in investigating public complaints against city police.
Read the Sun article.
Learn more about Prof. Pearson and the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs.