An Atlanta City Council Committee has set a work session to discuss repealing the city’s “broken windows” laws as creating conflict and tension between police and minority communities.
The Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee is to talk about Council Member Kwanza Hall’s proposed ordinance at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 2nd Floor Committee Room at City Hall, 55 Trinity Ave.
The measure says 85 “quality of life” offenses in the Atlanta Municipal Code duplicate many state laws, burden the criminal justice system, and encourage racial and gender bias in policing.
“Four hundred people in the Atlanta City Detention Center on any given day are overwhelmingly black and poor and taken to jail for offenses such as spitting, jay walking, and idling and loitering,” the ordinance says.
The discussion reflects a nationwide debate over a law enforcement philosophy that emphasizes cracking down on minor crimes – like breaking windows – before they evolve into major ones, like robbery and homicide. While some credit the policy with reducing urban crime, others say it has led to police profiling and targeting people of color.
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