The VRN represents another phase in the trend toward “collaborative reform” that the Justice Department has been undertaking recently. Many local police officials and criminal justice experts say such reform is preferable to previous methods of federal intervention, which involved either intrusive and burdensome monitoring or “throwing money” at departments in the form of grants that often resulted in few sustainable improvements.
“The Feds [would] come into the local jurisdiction and … take over,” says Tod Burke, a criminal justice professor at Radford University in Radford, Va., and a former Maryland police officer. “Now what we’re seeing is cooperation, and that is super refreshing.”
Some criminal justice experts and policing groups even say these kinds of reforms could help police departments regain public trust and support. Polls show that public confidence in the police has dropped this year to its lowest point in decades, yet community relations are crucial to preventing and solving crimes.
Last month, Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings credited partnerships with both the community and federal agencies for helping boost the city’s homicide arrest rate.
“By working closely together, the community and police are standing up against senseless acts of gun violence,” he said in a statement. “Maintaining this collaborative effort is important, as we look to continue cracking down on violent crime.”