Governor Cooper Signs Three Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Bills: Are They Enough?
NC Governor Roy Cooper announces the provisions of three new criminal justice reform bills. Source: The Office of Roy Cooper
On September 2nd, Governor Roy Cooper announced the signing of three criminal justice reform bills: House Bill 436, House Bill 536, and Senate Bill 300.
House Bill 436 is focused on the mental well-being of law enforcement officers. It mandates psychological screening for officers prior to employment, as well as continued training on mental health throughout their time on the force
House Bill 536, which addresses police brutality, dictates that law enforcement officers have a duty to intervene and report any excessive use of force by fellow officers. It also requires that police departments cross-reference recruits with the National Decertification Index, which alerts them to any previous violations that recruits may have.
Senate Bill 300 is the most comprehensive of the three bills, addressing a wide range of concerns. Its main components include requiring background checks for law enforcement officers prior to employment, allowing families to request the disclosure of body camera footage in the event of a death, and establishing a new group to study the state’s current criminal laws and recommend amendments to the legislature. SB 300 also establishes multiple databases similar to the National Decertification Index aimed at recording incidents of misconduct.
All three bills follow recommendations put forth by Governor Cooper’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC). Established in June 2020 after national outcry regarding police brutality and racial discrimination by law enforcement, headed by Governor Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein, and Associate Justice Anita S. Earls, the Task Force featured members from a wide variety of backgrounds, ranging from police chiefs to ACLU representatives. In its executive summary, TREC encouraged community policing, alternatives to arrest in cases of mental health issues and drug abuse, and transparency of body camera footage. TREC’s findings were instrumental to the bipartisan passing of HB 436, HB 536, and SB 300.
“We have seen that the criminal justice system doesn’t always treat everyone the same – and too often the differences are disproportionately felt by people of color,” Governor Cooper said in a press release praising these new laws. “This legislation will take us one step further toward a more equitable and just North Carolina for all.”
However, some criminal justice advocates feel that these bills do not go far enough to address what they claim are more critical issues in criminal justice, specifically the issue of police accountability. Daniel Bowes, director of policy and advocacy for the ACLU of North Carolina, argues that the laws continue to allow law enforcement to police itself. “The law enforcement training and oversight provisions in SB 300 rely on and perpetuate the falsehoods that the failings of the criminal legal system are the result of ‘a few bad apples’ and that the police can police themselves,” Bowes explained.
In examining the bills, the impact of input by pro-law enforcement organizations like the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association (NCSA) is evident. For example, while HB 436 mandates mental health awareness training for officers, it requires only two hours of training every three years — hardly a step up from the previous requirements, and a win for the NCSA in maintaining the status quo. In addition, the new databases created in SB 300 to track misconduct by officers will be for internal use only, a blow to the hope of many civil rights advocates that these laws would increase transparency. Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican and a sponsor of SB 300, acknowledged that while he had accepted feedback from civil rights groups, he first allowed law enforcement groups to establish “confines to put up” around the law.
Going forward, Republicans will look to advertise this Republican-led bipartisan victory as the next step to reforming the criminal justice system. Civil rights groups will likely point to areas of weakness in these new laws and encourage legislation that divests police input from police accountability, alongside demanding input equal to that of pro-law enforcement groups.