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Articles on George Floyd

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Charles McMillan, a witness to George Floyd’s murder, speaks at the site where Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Americans used to unite over tragic events − and now are divided by them

Public tragedies are heartrending events that gain widespread public attention. But where once prominent tragedies often brought Americans together, such tragedies no longer unify the country.
Police remove a protester during a transgender rights rally attended by opposing neo-Nazi protesters, outside Parliament House in Melbourne, Saturday, March 18, 2023. James Ross/AAP

Friday essay: ‘me against you’ – Jon Ronson investigates the perpetual outrage of the culture wars

The culture wars have been around forever, but keep taking new forms, and US variants threaten to spill over to Australia – as seen in the recent (overturned) ban on same-sex parenting books in Sydney.
Signs calling for all officers and emergency personnel involved in Tyre Nichols’ death to be named and charged rest on public steps on Feb. 1, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Lucy Garrett/Getty Images

Justice Department launches civil rights investigation of Memphis police – 4 essential reads about holding police accountable

The Justice Department has launched a civil rights probe of the Memphis Police Department to examine allegations of excessive force, improper stops and searches and racial disparities.
Dwindling numbers means more inexperienced officers. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Memphis police numbers dropped by nearly a quarter in recent years – were staffing shortages a factor in the killing of Tyre Nichols?

Police departments have faced recruitment and retention problems since the 2020 George Floyd protests. It has meant some agencies have had to lower standards to attract new officers.
Demonstrators stand off with officers July 3, 2022, in Akron, Ohio, as they protest the killing of Jayland Walker, shot by police. Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images

College requirements for police forces can save Black lives, but at what cost?

New research on police departments across the country reveals a significant link between the use of fatal force and college education – the more educated are less likely to use it.
A person holds a sign calling for to defund the police during an October 2020 protest in Ottawa after a police constable was acquitted of manslaughter in the 2016 death of a Black man, Abdirahman Abdi. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Thin-skinned blue line: Police fight against defunding, showing their true colours

Has the defund the police movement had an impact in Canada? It depends on how you define success.
A photo from a demonstration calling for police accountability and an end to police brutality in Vancouver, in May 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Public police are a greedy institution

The greedy tendencies of police departments help illustrate why public police funding is a major problem today in Canada and the United States.
Police push back protesters during a demonstration in Montréal calling for justice for victims of police brutality. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Defunding the police is a move towards community safety

The large budgets allotted for urban policing must be reconsidered so that communities can explore safer alternatives.
Rethinking what we mean by police sustainability, how we measure it and how we hold the police accountable for outcomes, may create the opening for a more viable path to reform. (Shutterstock)

Rethinking police reform: From defunding to promoting sustainability

The continued reliance on outdated indicators of police performance reinforce conventional ideas of police sustainability rather than align with the concerns of “defund the police” advocates.

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