Essay

In conversations about improvement and reform, we often plant our gaze so firmly on the grand objectives that we sometimes overlook the little things we can do to improve social institutions such as the police. I will consider what policing for people is, and could be, in terms of service to people. To begin, I identify six characteristics that Americans associate with “good service” from their police. I will then turn to some evidence on how well American police are providing these services, and will conclude with a reform agenda that promotes policing for people.