Criminal justice reform

Frisking members of public without evidence of crime (also known as stop-and-search) was heavily reduced in the United Kingdom as a policing reform.[1] This was done following research which found that the searches had been a major cause of the 2011 England riots.[2]

There have been suggestions for unarmed police or civilian officers to take over some or all traffic policing duties.[3]

There have also been suggestions for police to be replaced by community mediators in minor interpersonal disputers.[3] This is often called violence interruption, and is practiced for example by Cure Violence.

Another suggestion involves sending specially trained social workers to respond to situations caused by mental health or substance abuse problems.[3] An example is the CAHOOTS system in Eugene, Oregon.

Justice reinvestment involves redirecting money from prisons to funding the social and physical infrastructure of places with high levels of incarceration.[4] Reductions in incarceration may include risk and need assessments, sentence reductions, intermediate and graduated sanctions to parole and probation violations, treatment of substance addictions, changing sentencing guidelines, post-release supervision, and courts specialized in mental health or substance abuse issues.[5] The money saved through these policies may be invested in addiction treatment, additional probation officers, community sentencing, victims' services, housing support and transitional housing, and behavioral health service.[5] A justice reinvestment project in Bourke, Australia led by Indigenous Australians led to an 18% reduction in the number of major offences reported, 34% reduction in non-domestic violence assaults reported, and an 8% drop in overall rate of recidivism.[6]