OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 The police department in the capital of one of the reddest states in the nation is moving forward with a sweeping plan for reform, one that follows years of advocacy to more meaningfully address police violence in a city that ranks second among the country\u2019s large police departments for the rate of people killed by officers.<\/p>\n
The changes are based on a list of 39 new recommendations<\/a> from 21CP Solutions, an outside firm made up of former law enforcement leaders, public officials, civil rights lawyers and social scientists. The recommendations are designed to not only curb violent interactions between police and the public, but also improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. <\/p>\n \u201cNationally, we saw this historic call for a reevaluation of the way our law enforcement operates,\u201d Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt told the PBS NewsHour. \u201cWe saw the people here in Oklahoma City marching in the streets and they broadly represented the public and we knew it was important to this community and it needed to be addressed and addressed quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Oklahoma City residents marched in the streets demanding a change in police accountability as part of nationwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo by Adam Kemp\/ PBS NewsHour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 39 recommendations, which the city\u2019s police department began implementing in March, focuses on eight key areas of improvement, including reviewing its de-escalation policy<\/a>, more training in crisis response and increased transparency following police shootings.<\/p>\n![\"Oklahoma](\"https:\/\/d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net\/static\/2022\/09\/IMG_20200606_141432-1024x768.jpg\")
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