Students at the University of Virginia’s Batten School are diving into the problems of police and community relations and what can be done to resolve them.
It was part of Tuesday’s virtual Central Virginia Learning Exchange Summit. Some proposed solutions include increased de-escalation training, incorporating mental health professionals into emergency response, and other ways to hold officers accountable.
“Ten percent of officers in most forces are investigated for misconduct allegations,” UVA Batten student Kate Wozniak said. “When allegations go to police departments, there may not be the checks within departments to properly adjudicate those charges. This has tangible impacts on community members, as 52 out of every 100,000 men will be killed by police in their lifetime.”
