San Diego State University Police Reforms and Criminology Discussion

• Initial response (10 points): Write a 6 – 10 sentence response to the prompt. Choose an issue that you personally care about. Explain why the issue is important.

In Breaking Rank, Norm Stamper offers both support for and a harsh criticism of police unions:

On one hand, Stamper argues that “police unions are, with noteworthy exception, a pernicious embarrassment to law enforcement. They’ve fought ferociously against equal employment of women, people of color, gays and lesbians. They’ve opposed citizen review initiatives, and undermined existing accountability measures.” (p. 245)

On the other hand, Stamper acknowledges “I’m not against police unions. On the contrary. Working cops unquestionably need their own labor organization. Before the emergence of true unions … cops were systematically used and abused by elected and appointed officials.” (p. 247)

From your perspective, what is the proper role of police unions? Do you think that changes are needed in the relationship between police unions and police departments?

• Two Comments (5 points each): Comment on the posts of two of your classmates. Please limit your responses to 3-5 sentences. (I will give more instructions about this)