With No Police Shootings, Newark Makes Case For Consent Decrees

As U.S. police grapple with how to reel in use of force, the Newark police department managed to go all of 2020 without a police shooting or death.

As U.S. police grapple with how to reel in use of force, one local police department managed to go a full year without a shooting or death — without a single shot fired by officers. "The Newark police division is embracing the concept set forth in the consent decree. I'm not sure that the city of Newark, or the Newark PD could have gotten here without a consent decree, but they are here," former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey said.  Newark, New Jersey's transformation is perhaps the best argument for widespread adoption of "consent decrees" — a court-enforceable agreement between local police and the Department of Justice to implement reform.