policy debate

Source 1 "Topics." National Speech & Debate Association, 2020, www.speechanddebate.org/topics/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

Source 1

Source 1 Probable Opponent Evidence "Congress or the courts are more effective at initiating reform in the Criminal Justice System."

Source 1 I believe this can be refuted by saying that in 2018 Congress passed two criminal justice bills. Therefore vote for the congressmen who will opt for criminal justice reform.

Source 1 Probable Opponent Evidence "Increased reform on policing would lead to officers leaving the profession, could mobilize the creation of underground militias, or would cause an increase of violence towards police officers."

Source 1 My side does not agree with this opposition because with the use of more body cameras, the more safe the officer and community is. They will have an unbiased account of events. (check Source 2)

Source 1 Probable Opponent Disadvantages "Federalism DAs that challenge the roles both the federal and state governments play in the criminal justice system, Backlash DAs in the form of police officers rebelling against the affirmative or funding DAs since a lot of the funding will have to be absorbed by state governments."

Source 1 The federal government actually sends $4 million dollars annually to law enforcement. There is also no clear way for law enforcement to use this money either. There are also billions of dollars supporting programs that end up funding over policing and increased incarceration. (Source 2)

Source 2 Gilbert, Colton. "Criminal Justice Reform." Nfhs.org, 2020, www.nfhs.org/articles/2020-2021-policy-debate-novice-case-list-for-criminal-justice-reform/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

Source 2

Source 2 Evidence "At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found. Officers have beaten members of the public, planted evidence and used their badges to harass women. They have lied, stolen, dealt drugs, driven drunk and abused their spouses. Despite their role as public servants, the men and women who swear an oath to keep communities safe can generally avoid public scrutiny for their misdeeds. The records of their misconduct are filed away, rarely seen by anyone outside their departments. Police unions and their political allies have worked to put special protections in place ensuring some records are shielded from public view, or even destroyed."

Source 2 A credible news network tells what kind of crimes officers have committed and that they are typically hidden from the public or destroyed. It also brings up the hypocrisy of the oath they have to take to become an officer. I can also tie this in with other evidence from Source 2.

Source 2 Evidence "Tie federal dollars to reducing both crime and incarceration, and give police flexibility to choose the best practices in their jurisdictions. Proven crime-reduction programs, including mental health and drug treatment, and community policing, are the path to 21st century policing. The federal government plays a powerful role in law enforcement policy. Many grants pay for important programs that help control crime, and it's vital that taxpayer money support our police smartly, not blindly."

Source 2 I agree with this evidence because it shows that the federal government is a crucial part to criminal justice reform. It gives reforms we need/need more of in the 21st century and also says what taxpayers should make sure their money goes towards.

Source 2 Evidence "Right now there are billions of dollars allocated for programs that flies on autopilot and ends up funding over policing and increased incarceration."

Source 2 I believe this to be evidence against the Source 1 federalism and funding argument, also ties in with other evidence from Source 2. We should allocate funding for programs that reduce over policing and incarceration rates.

Source 2 Evidence "$4 billion the federal government sends to law enforcement annually, often with no clear goals for how those resources should be used."

Source 2 I believe this to be evidence against the Source 1 federalism and funding argument. Also ties in with other evidence from Source 2.

Source 2 Evidence "Police are very rarely prosecuted for shootings....investigations fall onto the same police department the officer is from...other times the only available evidence comes from eyewitnesses....there is a tendency to believe a police officer over a civilian."

Source 2 I like this evidence because it shows that police rarely get any repercussions. I will also tie this together will other evidence from Source 2.

Source 2 Evidence "By April 15 of 2014, at least 293 people had been killed by American police. By the end of the year, the number totaled 1,114. By April 15 of 2015, the number had increased to 350 people killed by police. By the end of the year, the number rose by a staggering 108 fatalities over the year before to 1,222 people killed by American police. By April 15 of 2016, the number declined slightly to 348 people. By the end of the year 1,171 people had been killed by police—a drop of 51 people...By April 15 of 2017, the first year of the Trump administration, with 346 people killed by police, it looked like the numbers were going to stay steady. But by the end of the year, with 1,194 people killed, there was an increase of 23 people over 2016. And this year is worse. We're up to 378 people killed by April 15, the highest yet. If this trend continues, this could be the first year tracked...where we have 1,300 people killed by police in the United States."

Source 2 I will use this piece of evidence to show just how many people are killed by the police and will tie this in with other evidence from Source 2. This also shows that the numbers are just getting worse.

Source 2 Evidence "People behave differently when they know they are being watched, and police are no exception. Officers wearing body cameras will be less aggressive and more respectful...They will also be more reluctant to use force unless it is necessary to protect themselves and the public...body-worn police cameras...will...be beneficial for both the police and the community. Evidence supporting this belief comes from jurisdictions in which experiments with the use of body-worn cameras have produced encouraging data. In...Rialto, California—after the police force had worn body cameras for a full year, citizen complaints against police declined by 60 percent...In Mesa, Arizona,...use-of-force complaints decreased by 75 percent...Another important statistic from the Rialto study is...the use of force by an officer, which dropped by 88 percent after the use of body cameras. Officers who were not equipped with cameras were twice as likely to use force...when officers wore cameras, every incident of physical contact was initiated by a member of the public, but in the absence of cameras, 29 percent of the incidents involving physical force were initiated by the officer....such cameras could play a role in curtailing abuses of the long-standing police practice in New York of stopping and frisking young men—most of them African American—on suspicion of criminal behavior....The use of body cameras will also protect police officers. No longer will a person be able to claim that a police officer punched or kicked him without cause, when in fact it was that person who initiated the encounter by threatening or attacking the police officer....A video presents an unbiased account of the events."

Source 2 This evidence gives an easy solution to help protect officers and the public. With the use of a body camera, real evidence will be provided and is unbiased evidence.

Source 2 Evidence "'Police violence disproportionately impacts young people, and the young people affected are disproportionately people of color,' Anthony Bui of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and colleagues wrote....'Framing police violence as an important cause of deaths among young adults provides another valuable lens to motivate prevention efforts." There are no comprehensive public databases on police shootings, so Bui and colleagues used "The Counted', a report compiled by The Guardian based on media reports of police killings. 'Data from 'The Counted' have been validated as a source for the number of deaths due to police violence in the USA and found to be more complete than the National Vital Statistics System,' they wrote. The database showed 1,146 police killings in 2015 and 1,092 in 2016. Bui and colleagues checked the ages of those killed and used U.S. Census and other data to calculate how long they would have been expected to live had they not been killed. 'People of color comprised 38.5 percent of the population, but 51.5 percent of all years of life lost in 2015-2016,' they wrote. 'Years of life lost from police violence were greatest among younger age groups across racial and ethnic groups, but the distribution of YLLs was higher among even younger ages in people of color compared with whites.' The highest proportion of those killed was among Native Americans, who were killed by police at a rate of 7.8 per one million people, the researchers found. African-Americans died at the hands of police at a rate of 7.2 per million, while whites are killed at a rate of 2.9 per million."

Source 2 This evidence shows that the police violence impacts young people, especially of color. It gives even more evidence of why we should improve justice reform; to protect our young people. It also gives percentages and rates of races in or killed by police shootings. This can be tied into evidence from Source 2, 3, and 4.

Source 2 Evidence "The National Police Misconduct Reporting Project analyzed 3,238 criminal cases against police officers from April 2009 through December 2010. They found that only 33 percent were convicted, and 36 percent of officers who were convicted ended up serving prison sentences. Both of those are about half the rate at which members of the public are convicted or incarcerated."

Source 2 This evidence shows the statistics of repercussions of police in the wrong and how little they compare to the general public repercussions. I can also tie this in with other evidence from Source 2.

Source 2 Evidence "David Rudovsky, a civil rights lawyer who co-wrote Prosecuting Misconduct: Law and Litigation ...., 'A prosecutor needs a very strong case before a jury will say that somebody we generally trust to protect us has so seriously crossed the line as to be subject to a conviction.'"

Source 2 This piece of evidence gives a credible source agreeing with the little repercussions to policemen. This also says what is typically fact about these cases and can be tied into other evidence from Source 2.

Source 3 Weiss, Debra Cassens. "ABA-Supported Juvenile Justice Bill with 'rehabilitative Purpose' Passes Congress." ABA Journal, 14 Dec. 2018, www.abajournal.com/news/article/aba_supported_juvenile_justice_bill_with_rehabilitative_purpose_passes_cong. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

Source 3

Source 3 Evidence "'ABA President Bob Carlson said the bill represents 'a national commitment to the rehabilitative purpose of the juvenile justice system.' 'While the proposed compromise legislation does not satisfy all juvenile justice reforms advocated by the ABA,' Carlson wrote, "we still think this is a critical step in the right direction.'"

Source 3 A credible source states that he agrees that there is more reform to be done but this bill is in the right direction. He also believes it is a national commitment to push for this reform. This can be tied in with evidence from Source 2, 3, and 4.

Source 3 Evidence "The bill also improves treatment for youths with mental health and substance-abuse issues and supports alternatives to incarceration, according to press releases by Whitehouse and Grassley."

Source 3 Credible sources state that this bill improves youth treatments for mental health and substance-abuse instead of automatically receiving incarceration. This can be tied into evidence from Source 2, 3, and 4.

Source 3 Evidence "The (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2018) bill requires states accepting federal funding to provide four core protections for youths, the Marshall Project reports. One protection is a limit on locking up youths for status offenses such as truancy and curfew violations. Second and third are requirements to generally keep juveniles out of adult jails and to separate them from adult inmates. A fourth protection addresses racial disparities by requiring data collection and a plan to address the problem."

Source 3 This evidence states what the JJDPR does and what it is. This can be tied in with Source 2, 3, and 4.

Source 4 "Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act." Americanbar.org, 2015, www.americanbar.org/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/priorities_policy/criminal_justice_system_improvements/juvenile_justice_delinquency_prevention_act/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

Source 4

Source 4 Evidence "JJDPA reauthorization should include provisions that promote fairness through support for State efforts to expand prompt youth access to qualified counsel and support programs that inform youth of opportunities to seal or expunge juvenile records once they have gotten their lives back on track."

Source 4 This evidence is what further reform should be done. This basically means that juveniles should have the chance to get counseling and be in support programs to get their lives back on track and once they do, remove their records. This evidence can be tied into previous evidence.

Source 4 Evidence "JJDPA legislation should also promote community-based alternatives to detention; improve screening, diversion, assessment and treatment for mental health and substance abuse needs; and require greater accountability in the use of resources, oversight of grant programs, and compliance with federal standards."

Source 4 This evidence is what further reform should be done. This is basically saying that their should be community service alternatives to detention depending on the charges. This evidence can be tied into previous evidence.

Source 5 Sinyangwe, Samuel. "Mapping Police Violence." Mapping Police Violence, 30 Nov. 2020, mappingpoliceviolence.org/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2020.

Source 5

Source 5 Evidence "There have only been 17 days in 2020 where police did not kill someone."

Source 5 This evidence shows just how normalized police killings are. I can tie this in with evidence from Source 2.

Source 5 Evidence "Total Killings by Police Year-to-Date: 1,144 (2018), Total Killings by Police Year-to-Date: 1,016 (2020)."

Source 5 This evidence tells in the most recent years how many deaths have been caused by police. This can be tied with evidence from Source 2.

Source 6 "Samuel Sinyangwe." HRDAG - Human Rights Data Analysis Group, 2020, hrdag.org/people/samuel-sinyangwe/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2020.

Source 6

Source 6 Evidence "Samuel Sinyangwe is a policy analyst and data scientist who works with communities of color to fight systemic racism through cutting-edge policies and strategies. Sam has supported movement activists across the country to collect and use data as a tool for fighting police violence."

Source 6 This shows that Samuel Sinyangwe is a credible source. I can use this information if I am questioned about him.