Governance

The City of Angels, the sins of the LAPD and the dos and don’ts of policing reform

Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Task Force on Policing Reform has started its work, drawing on a very broad set of local leaders, activists and citizens. A series of similar task forces were launched in Los Angeles in the 1990s, all of which arose from controversies and scandals within the LAPD. What can Houston learn from LA’s “blue ribbon” police task forces?

To better understand police culture, start here

While not all Americans support dismantling or defunding the police, recent surveys show the overwhelming majority do agree that changes in police training are needed. Most also think police officers shouldn’t be protected from being sued by “qualified immunity.” Part 2 of our reading list on policing brings together a collection of works on the culture within police organizations.

How did the flaws get into our flawed system of policing?

To better understand the ongoing problems with what police have done, we need to understand what it is that police do. The works included on this reading list examine police institutions in America and what members of this country’s many policing agencies actually do on a day-to-day basis.

Why are Houston pedestrians forced to play a real-life game of ‘Frogger’?

Under Texas law, drivers are required to yield the right of way to people in a crosswalk, marked or unmarked. But for the most part, Houston drivers ignore the rules. In the end, the driving laws in the state are not protecting vulnerable road users.

As COVID-19 cases surge in Texas, July rent is due for many struggling to avoid eviction

Renters in Texas were some of the first in the nation to face evictions after the state’s moratorium blocking eviction proceedings expired last month. A U.S. Census Bureau survey finds that 33% of renter households in Texas have little or no confidence in their ability to pay rent for July.