House Passes Meaningful Policing Reform, Senate Must Follow

Justice Reform News, Policing Resources 06.25.20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shin Inouye, [email protected], 202.869.0398

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the House passage of H.R. 7120, George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020:

“We applaud the House for taking critical action toward meaningful accountability in policing that will help curb state sanctioned violence by law enforcement. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all of the Black and Brown people killed by police demand structural change to shift police culture and practices. The Senate must now take up this legislation, work to strengthen it, and pass the bill. Ultimately, this moment requires Congress to redefine public safety in ways that prioritize investments in economic opportunity, education, health care, and other community-led solutions and shrinks the footprint of the criminal legal system, including police, to ensure both our safety and freedoms are protected.”

BACKGROUND

Previously, The Leadership Conference and more than 450 civil rights organizations called on congressional leadership to swiftly rectify the legacy of white supremacy and anti-Black racism that has led to police violence against Black people across our country.

The Leadership Conference, along with its sister organization, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, previously launched the New Era of Public Safety initiative, featuring tools to increase trust, fairness, justice, and mutual respect between police departments and the communities they serve. In 2019, the organization launched the Vision for Justice platform that calls for a holistic reimagining of public safety and outlines how we create healthy, inclusive, and safe communities. That platform calls on us to adopt a transformative vision for how we evaluate and determine public safety priorities, while also ending mass incarceration and criminalization.

 The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.