A task force to reimagine police has come up with 112 recommendations for ways Denver can improve its public safety.
A major theme throughout the recommendations is finding ways to limit police interactions with the public.
The most common police interaction with people comes in the form of traffic stops, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which is run by the U.S. Department of Justice. Most of these interactions end with either a warning, ticket or even an arrest.
Sometimes, however, those interactions can be deadly for the police officer or the driver.
“Traffic stops present dangers in multiple ways. Traffic stops are really an unknown for police officers so when they stop somebody, they don’t know where they’re stopping,” said Paul Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. “There is a lot of dynamics at play, and there’s a lot of potential for both misunderstanding and misinterpretation by both parties.”
The task force recommended using civilian city employees for enforcing traffic laws and responding to accidents, theDenverChannel reports.
Another idea to limit interactions: using automated systems like red light or speeding cameras.
