Police Reform and Police Legitimacy
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The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
Spring 2021
“Police Reform and Police Legitimacy”
PPHA 37106
Instructor: Robert Owens, Lecturer and Chief Performance Analyst for Public Safety, City of Chicago Office
of the Inspector General
Time: Tues. (lecture)/Thurs. (discussion), 8:00am–9:20am
Location: Zoom. Tuesday lectures will be recorded.
Office hours: Over Zoom, by appointment.
Course description
This course introduces students to the concept of legitimacy in policing, the related reform efforts
implemented in police departments throughout the United States in recent years, and the challenges to
reform from activist movements to defund or abolish the police.
Policing in the United States is in crisis. For decades before the mass protests that erupted in the
summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd, local, state and federal efforts to reform the police have
yielded frustratingly halting progress and ambiguous, partial evidence about what works. Ubiquitous video
records of police-civilian interactions have changed the relationships among the police, the public, local
political authorities, and the media. At the same time, policing itself is changing. New technological
capabilities have increased public expectations of transparency and efficiency in policing while raising
concerns about privacy and due process rights. Local police have taken on an expanding portfolio of
responsibilities, including presence in public schools, mental health crisis response, and counter-terrorism.
The transition from the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration resulted in an abrupt shift in
the relationship of the federal Department of Justice with local law enforcement agencies.
This course will equip students to understand the issues at stake in the contemporary policy debates
surrounding policing and the foundational scholarly knowledge underpinning those debates.
The first half of the course is an introduction to the profession of policing in America: its
organizational structure, its functional purpose, the normative expectations of citizens who rely on the
police for protection, and how police performance is measured. The second half of the course turns to
specific controversies and reform efforts from present and recent past. We will examine the trajectories of
several cities, including Chicago, which have gone through police reforms initiatives and evaluate the impact
and promise of specific policy choices. The course will conclude with a consideration of police defunding
and abolition as alternatives to, or expansions in the concept of, “police reform.”
Expectations, assignments, and grading
The class will meet twice weekly in an online only format (Zoom). The Tuesday sessions will be
lectures, and the Thursday sessions will be discussions. Tuesday lectures will be recorded and made available
to students who are unable to attend at the scheduled time, for use within the context of the course only.
Students are expected to come to class fully prepared to discuss all the readings. The instructor will be
available for office hours on Zoom. Individuals and small groups are equally welcome and encouraged to
schedule time.
The course assignments will deal with difficult and contentious topics, including police violence and
its aftermath, and will include materials that may be triggering or painful. Students who wish to take the
class should be prepared to engage academically with this challenging material and should come with a firm2
commitment to engage one another in respectful, open and rigorous discourse. Please contact the
instructor early on with any concerns about this general policy or specific readings.
Do not hesitate to contact the instructor with questions about disability accommodations or for
support in accessing other university-wide resources.
Grading will be based on contributions to class discussion, two response papers (3–5 pp. each), and
a final paper of 12–25pp. Students may either (1) analyze a specific police reform policy for its purpose and
prospects for success; or (2) choose another paper topic in consultation with the instructor. The relative
weight of these components in the final grade will be: Class contributions: 20%; Response papers: 30%;
Final paper: 50%. Papers should be submitted online through the course site with only student ID attached
(no names). Papers will be graded anonymously.
Late papers will be downgraded one grade per day (A to A-, etc.) for each day they are late. Papers
more than 8 days late will not be accepted. If you need an extension, please approach me professionally and
as early as possible. Plagiarism of any part of any paper will result in a failing grade on that paper and
possibly a failing grade in the course. Your basic rules of thumb should be, do not put any text that you did
not write yourself into your paper except for clearly referenced quotations, and cite all your sources such
that any reader could locate them without difficulty. If you have any doubts about what this means, talk to
the instructor.
Books for purchase
1. Patrick Sharkey, Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence.
Norton (2018).
2. Malcolm Sparrow, Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform. Brookings Institution Press
(2016).
3. Joe Domanick, Blue: The LAPD and the Battle to Redeem American Policing. Simon and Schuster (2015).
4. Sarah Brayne, Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing. Oxford University Press (2021).
All other assigned readings will be made available on the course website. Those that are accessible through
open-source platforms are also linked below.
Schedule
Week 1: Structure and function of policing in America
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Patrick Sharkey, Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence.
Norton (2018) (Chapters 2–3, pp. 14–60).
2. Malcolm Sparrow, Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform. Brookings Institution Press
(2016) (Chapter 1, pp. 1–39).
3. [City of Chicago OIG May/June Protest Report]
Optional:
New York City Department of Investigation, “Investigation into the NYPD Response to the
George Floyd Protests” (2020).
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/reports/pdf/2020/DOIRpt.NYPD%20Reponse.
%20GeorgeFloyd%20Protests.12.18.2020.pdf
CNA, “Philadelphia Police Department’s Response to Demonstrations and Civil Unrest,
May 30–June 15, 2020” (2020). https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/IAA-2020-
U-028506-Final.pdf?mc_cid=62cead6db7&mc_eid=c1d0b8ab343
Week 2: Accountability and oversight
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. U.S. Department of Justice, Investigation of the Chicago Police Department (2017), pp. 46–70, 74–79.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/925846/download
2. Sharon Fairley, “Survey Says?: U.S. Cities Double Down on Civilian Oversight of Police Despite
Challenges and Controversies.” Cardozo Law Review De Novo (2020). http://cardozolawreview.com/wp-
content/uploads/2020/01/FAIRLEY.DN_.2019.pdf
3. Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability, proposed ordinance, “Community Commission for Public
Safety and Accountability” (2018). http://chicagogapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/O2018-
2389-V2.pdf
4. Joanna Schwartz, “Allocating the Costs of Police Misconduct Litigation: Available Evidence and a
Research Agenda.” Working paper (2021).
Optional:
William Baude, “Is Qualified Immunity Unlawful?” California Law Review 106:45, 45–90
(2018).
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=13555&context
=journal_articles
Joanna Schwartz, “The Case Against Qualified Immunity.” Notre Dame Law Review 93:5,
1797–1852 (2018).
City of Chicago, “Report on Chicago Police Department 2019 Litigation” (2020).
https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/sites/police-
reform/docs/PoliceLitigationReport-Revised10-1-2020.pdf
City of Chicago Office of Inspector General, “Evaluation of the Use of the Affidavit
Override in Disciplinary Investigations of Chicago Police Department Members”
(2020). https://igchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OIG-Evaluation-of-
the-Use-of-the-Affidavit-Override-in-Disciplinary-Investigations-of-CPD-
Members.pdf
City of Chicago Office of Inspector General, “Advisory Concerning the Civilian Office of
Police Accountability’s Practice of Administratively Terminating Disciplinary
Investigations” (2020). https://igchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/OIG-
Advisory-Concerning-COPAs-Practice-of-Administatively-Terminating-Disciplinary-
Investigations.pdf
New York City Police Department of Investigation, “2019 Assessment of Litigation Data
Involving NYPD” (2019).
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/reports/pdf/2019/Apr/13LitData_pressrelease_
report_43019.pdf
Week 3: Legitimacy, procedural justice, and legal estrangement
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Tom Tyler, “Enhancing Police Legitimacy.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
593:1, 84–99 (2004).
2. Andrew Papachristos, Tracey Meares, Jeffrey Fagan, “Why Do Criminals Obey the Law? The Influence
of Legitimacy and Social Networks on Active Gun Offenders.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
102:2 (2012).4
3. Monica Bell, “Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement.” Yale Law Journal 126, 2054–
2150 (2017).
4. John Crank and Robert Langworthy, “An Institutional Perspective of Policing.” Journal of Criminal Law and
Criminology 83:2, 338–363 (1992).
Optional:
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New Press
(2010).
Jill Lepore, “The Invention of the Police.” New Yorker (July 2020).
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/07/20/the-invention-of-the-police
Matthew Desmond, Andrew Papachristos, David Kirk, “Police Violence and Citizen Crime
Reporting in the Black Community.” American Sociological Review 81:5 (2016).
Michael Zoorob, “Do Police Brutality Stories Reduce 911 Calls? Reassessing an Important
Criminological Finding.” American Sociological Review 85:1 (2020).
Matthew Desmond, Andrew Papachristos, David Kirk, “Evidence of the Effect of Police
Violence on Citizen Crime Reporting.” American Sociological Review 85:1 (2020).
Week 4: Measuring police performance
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Malcolm Sparrow, Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform. Brookings Institution Press
(2016) (Chapter 2, pp. 40–92).
2. James Willis, Stephen Mastrofski, and David Weisburd, “Making Sense of COMPSTAT: A Theory-Based
Analysis of Organizational Change in Three Police Departments.” Law and Society Review 41:1 (2007).
3. Anthony Braga, Andrew Papachristos, and David Hureau, “The Effects of Hot Spots Policing on Crime:
An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Justice Quarterly 31:4 (2014).
4. Franklin Zimring, The City that Became Safe: New York’s Lessons for Urban Crime and Its Control. Oxford
University Press (2011) (Chapters 1 and 5, pp. 1–27, 136–150).
5. Dean Knox, Will Lowe, and Jonathan Mummolo, “Administrative Records Mask Racially Biased
Policing.” American Political Science Review 114:3 (2020)
6. NYPD CompStat website (browse). https://compstat.nypdonline.org/2e5c3f4b-85c1-4635-83c6-
22b27fe7c75c/view/90
RESPONSE PAPER 1 DUE BY FRIDAY WEEK 4
Week 5: Police use of force: law, policy, and practice
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Chicago Police Department, “Use of Force” (G03-02) (2020).
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57be2-128ff3f0-ae912-8fff-
44306f3da7b28a19.html
2. Chicago Police Department, “Force Options” (G03-02-01) (2020).
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57be2-128ff3f0-ae912-9001-
1d970b87782d543f.html
3. Franklin Zimring, When Police Kill. Cambridge: Harvard University Press (2017) (Chapters 2–3, pp. 23–73).
4. Dean Knox and Jonathan Mummolo, “Toward a General Causal Framework for the Study of Racial Bias
in Policing.” Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy 1 (2020).5
5. City of Chicago Office of Inspector General, TRR dashboards (browse).
https://informationportal.igchicago.org/dashboards/public-safety/tactical-response-reports/
Optional:
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989).
Roland Fryer, “An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force.” Journal
of Political Economy 127:3 (2019).
Week 6: Police use of force: technology and oversight
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Chicago Police Department, “Incidents Requiring the Completion of a Tactical Response Report” (G03-
02-02) (2021). http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57b9b-176b9f10-e1f17-6ba5-
f224a7fdc2db2e14.pdf?hl=true
2. Chicago Police Department, “Department Review of Use of Force” (G03-02-08) (2021).
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57b9b-176b9f10-e1f17-6ba5-
f236d09b7228460e.pdf?hl=true
3. Barak Ariel, William Farrar and Alex Sutherland, “The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of
force and citizens’ complaints against the police: A randomized controlled trial.” Journal of
Quantitative Criminology 31:3 (2015).
4. Cynthia Lum et al., “Body-worn cameras’ effects on police officers and citizen behavior: A systematic
review.” Campbell Systematic Reviews 16:3 (2020).
5. Dan Kahan, David Hoffman, and Donald Braman, “Whose Eyes Are You Going to Believe? Scott v.
Harris and the Perils of Cognitive Illiberalism.” Harvard Law Review 122:3 (2009).
Optional:
Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007).
Dana Goodyear. “Can the Manufacturer of TASERs Provide the Answer to Police Abuse?”
New Yorker (August 2018).
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/27/can-the-manufacturer-of-
tasers-provide-the-answer-to-police-abuse
Week 7: Federal reform efforts
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Investigation of the Baltimore City Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice (August 2016).
https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/883296/download
2. United States of America v. Police Department of Baltimore City et al. consent decree (January 2017).
https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/925056/download
3. “Motion for Continuance of Public Fairness Hearing” in United States of America v. Police Department of
Baltimore City et al. (April 2017). https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/motion-doc-
1491267565.pdf
4. Kevin Rector, “Federal Judge Approves Baltimore policing consent decree, denying Justice Department
request for delay.” Baltimore Sun (April 2017). https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-
city/bs-md-ci-consent-decree-approved-20170407-story.html
5. Jeff Sessions, “Memorandum for Heads of Civil Litigating Components and United States Attorneys”
(2018). https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1109621/download
Optional:6
Baltimore Police Department Monitoring Team, “First Comprehensive Re-Assessment”
(September 2020).
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59db8644e45a7c08738ca2f1/t/5f74e69c2982
fc0cb82f4140/1601496732748/BPD+-+Comprehensive+Re-Assessment+9-30-
20.pdf
Baltimore Police Department Monitoring Team, “Use of Force Outcomes Assessment”
(September 2020).
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59db8644e45a7c08738ca2f1/t/5ff4f37eac6e
9e2793fcfee1/1609888639479/UOF+outcome+assessment_final+1.4.2021%28510
27643.1%29.pdf
RESPONSE PAPER 2 DUE BY FRIDAY WEEK 7
Week 8: LAPD case study
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Joe Domanick, Blue: The LAPD and the Battle to Redeem American Policing. Simon and Schuster (2015) (Part
Four and Epilogue, pp. 223–343).
2. Steve Herbert, Katherine Beckett, and Forrest Stuart, “Policing Social Marginality: Contrasting
Approaches.” Law and Social Inquiry 43:4, 1491–1513 (2018).
3. Sarah Brayne, Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing. Oxford University Press (2021)
(Introduction and Chapters 1–4, pp. 1–73).
Optional:
Simon Balto, Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power. University
of North Carolina Press (2019) (Chapter 5).
Not in Our Town, “Camden’s Turn: A Story of Police Reform in Progress” (2017) (video).
https://www.niot.org/cops/camdensturn
Stephen Danley. “Camden Police Reboot is Being Misused in the Debate Over Police
Reform.” Washington Post (June 2020).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/16/camden-nj-police-reboot-
is-being-misused-debate-over-police-reform/
Week 9: Funding and defunding the police
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. “The BREATHE Act” proposed federal legislation (Sections 1–2, pp. 1 – 51).
https://breatheact.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-BREATHE-Act-V.16_.pdf
2. City of Minneapolis 2021 Adopted Budget. link when available
3. “Minneapolis People’s Budget” proposed 2021 city budget. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16-
3SKF5E040Zax0nemxedPWRRsv3FJgStKO4s0lCeWw/edit
4. Patrick Sharkey, “Why Do We Need the Police?” Washington Post (June 2020).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/12/defund-police-violent-
crime/?arc404=true
5. William Finnegan, “How Police Unions Fight Reform.” New Yorker (July 2020),
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/08/03/how-police-unions-fight-reform
Optional:7
Christy Lopez, “Defund the police? Here’s what that really means.” Washington Post (June
2020). https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/07/defund-police-
heres-what-that-really-means/
Rashawn Ray, “What does ‘defund the police’ mean and does it have merit?” Brookings (June
2020). https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-
the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/#:~:text=Rashawn%20Ray,-
David%20M.&text=%E2%80%9CDefund%20the%20police%E2%80%9D%20mea
ns%20reallocating,That's%20it.&text=Rather%2C%20they%20want%20to%20see,a
nd%20fresh%20roots%20replanted%20anew
Matthew Yglesias, “Growing calls to ‘defund the police,’ explained.” Vox (June 2020).
https://www.vox.com/2020/6/3/21276824/defund-police-divest-explainer
Alex Vitale, “We Must Defund the Police Now.” Jacobin (June 2020).
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/06/defund-police-nypd-brutality-protests
Week 10: Reform and abolition
Tues: Lecture
Thurs: Discussion
Readings:
1. Patrick Sharkey, Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence.
Norton (2018) (chapters 8–10; pp. 146–185).
2. Malcolm Sparrow, Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform. Brookings Institution Press
(2016) (Chapters 3, 5, 6; pp. 93–128, 171–230).
FINAL PAPERS DUE TBDYou can also read
