What You Need to Know About ‘8 Can’t Wait’ Police Reforms to Reduce Violence

After the murder of George Floyd and ensuing police brutality against peaceful protestors, there’s renewed momentum behind reducing funding for police departments.

On Tuesday, activist group Campaign Zero launched 8 Can't Wait, which lists eight proposals that reduce police killings by 72% when compared to cities that don’t use them. The website includes a database that tracks over 200 cities across the United States and Canada, and has a tool that lets you look up the current policies in your own city.

These are the recommended policies:

• Ban chokeholds and strangleholds
• Require de-escalation
• Require warning before shooting
• Exhaust all other means before shooting
• Duty to intervene and stop excessive force by other officers
• Ban shooting at moving vehicles
• Require use-of-force continuum
• Require comprehensive reporting each time an officer uses forces or threatens to do so

Organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson spoke to GQ about how previous Campaign Zero data has been in received in key cities. "Since we’ve launched, many cities have changed their policies in some way. Some have changed one or two policies, some have changed more. There are only two cities in the top 100 that have satisfied all eight policies—Tucson and San Francisco—and San Francisco only has all eight because the federal government forced them to." 

McKesson also noted that "all of these policies are simple and clear enough for anyone to be an expert on." This assertation showed, as the new project found an immediate movement on social media while high-profile artists like Ariana Grande, Lupita Nyong’o, Kumail Nanjiani, and Taika Waititi tweeted out the policies. 

Campaign Zero astresses that police violence is a problem that can be rooted out at the local level. The tool shares contact information for your mayor or sheriff. In many cities, a mayor can immediately enact the policies, which could prevent some deaths while potential longer-term changes—such as defunding police departments—can make progress. Brittany Packnett, a member of Campaign Zero’s planning team, said in a tweet: “No act of Congress or executive order needed. Mayors just need to do the right thing." 

For those looking to get involved in 8 Can’t Wait, all you have to do is find your city and begin calling local officials. 

We're updating our "justice" Instagram Story highlight daily on @hercampus to continue to provide resources that can help you demand change.