Police Unions, Practically Speaking

In the current scholarship surrounding law enforcement issues, there are two diverging sides in which some advocate for major reform and others advocate for a continuation of the status quo across major police departments in the United States. Standing in the middle of this debate is a substantial player: police unions. The push for major reform in police departments sometimes collides with powerful police unions, who argue that Qualified Immunity and other policies that protect police officers should be maintained. Like many other unions in other fields, police unions often will fight to defend its members through advocacy of certain reforms, while opposing or ignoring other reforms. Catherine Fisk and L. Song Richardson argued in a law review article that police unions in several cities “have challenged police chiefs brought in to enact reforms that they consider threatening to officer safety or economic interests, or that they believe weaken public safety.” They claim union-negotiated procedural rights for police officers sometimes make reform more difficult. Many advocate that these rights for police officers must be continued due to the high demand for police officers and their willingness to put their lives on the line. Moving forward in the debate surrounding police reform, a multitude of perspectives will have to be considered in order to bring about any piece of major reform, if needed at all, to ensure that police departments do not face shortages, collective bargaining standoffs, and other labor issues.

Featuring:
-- Larry H. James, Managing Partner, Crabbe, Brown & James LLP
-- Prof. Daniel DiSalvo, Professor and Chair of Political Science, The City College of New York