Memo: Awareness Campaign on Reporting Police Brutality
- Madison Hamilton
- Sep 4, 2020
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 7, 2020
I researched and wrote a memo proposing a federal awareness campaign on police brutality, funded through the The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
ISSUE: As police brutality continues throughout the country, we must inform victims and bystanders on the ways to address abuse and hold law enforcement accountable. A national public awareness campaign would help educate the public on how to recognize the indicators of police brutality and respond appropriately.
AUTHORIZATION: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957. It is responsible for investigating, reporting, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues. Congress has empowered the Commission to “prepare public service announcements and advertising campaigns to discourage discrimination or denials of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution of the United States because of color, race, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice.”¹
RECOMMENDED CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE:
A general awareness media campaign that provides information on police abuse, as well as resources to learn more about the issue.
An education campaign about where and how to report violence and harassment.
Training and materials to increase detection of police violence and harassment and to identify victims.
POTENTIAL OBSTACLES: Authorized appropriations for the commission expired at the end of FY1995 and there is nothing in the commission’s authorizing statutes that requires a proportion of its annual funding to be allocated for public information campaigns.²
¹ The United States Commission on Civil Rights, www.usccr.gov/pubs/congress/2014-to-2018_USCCR-Strategic-Plan-FY.pdf.
² Laney, Garrine P. “The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: History, Funding, and Current Issues.” Congressional Research Service, 28 Oct. 2008, www.everycrsreport.com/files/20081028_RL34699_2e1067e2efe386a2fde36419dd8bb4fbbdcf1678.pdf.
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