At Coppin State, Dr. Jacqueline Rhoden-Trader said the criminal justice department is beginning to shift the curriculum to incorporate a more real-time snapshot of what is happening in communities across the country. But the changes, experts say, cannot stop at curricular changes.
For one thing, said D.C.-based attorney Stephen Kohn, who has advocated for corporate and government accountability and authored books on whistleblowing culture, there must be self-policing within the departments. From the FBI to the local jurisdictions, Kohn said without people on the inside to report of malfeasance, the cycles will continue to perpetuate.
Racism, said Kohn, “is just a part of the culture” of the FBI. And, since the FBI has jurisdiction over the civil rights investigations at the local level, it is likely that said culture will continue to trickle down and negatively impact citizens of color on the ground.
“Ultimately, if you’re going to really root out discrimination in police departments, you’re going to need insiders who can either root out the systemic issues or identify the rotten apples,” said Kohn. “Within police culture, that’s generally very difficult.”
But Dr. Justin Hansford, the St. Louis University assistant professor of law who has experienced much of the aggression first-hand over the last year, said that whistleblowing without accountability still won’t solve the issue.
“There has to be accountability,” he said. “one thing I’ve always advocated [for] is there has to be some kind of financial impact when these things happen.”
