Addressing Differences in the House and Senate Bills on Police Reform

In this brief, the Center for State Policy Analysis offers a framework for understanding key differences between two police reform bills in the Massachusetts House and Senate, highlighting the choices and trade-offs involved in achieving common ground. These include:

• Finding the best data to measure success, identify systemic problems, and provide a firm grounding for future reforms
• Ensuring that any new oversight agencies have adequate and consistent funding sources
• Clarifying lines of authority between new agencies, as a way to support organizational change and avoid bureaucratic infighting
• Looking beyond police departments to repair damage in communities hurt by bias or neglect