Miami University’s JANUS forum hosted Heather MacDonald and Martin O’Malley on Thursday April 27 at 6:30 p.m. in a discussion on the topic “Can Both Black and Blue Lives Matter?”
“There is a racial bias in so many things, it’s in the structure of our economy, it’s in the structure of our government, and yes it’s in our criminal justice system,” said O’Malley in his opening statement.
MacDonald and O’Malley both gave opening statements discussing their viewpoints on the subject matter and then proceeded to take audience questions.
According to MacDonald, police chiefs are changing the way they handle crime. Police officers used to go through long periods of not knowing the crime rate in the areas that were under their supervision. They are now grilled on the crime patterns that are on their watch, and they have weekly accountability sessions.
MacDonald expressed her concern for more police involvement through examples of citizens in communities who are scared to go anywhere in their cities. She believes officers need constant training to make sure they do not engage in fatal shootings, but she believes that the data does not support the Black Lives Matter movement that America is living in an epidemic of racially biased police shootings.
O’Malley stated that in order for the criminal system to change police forces must use leadership, understanding, and commitment, which includes better training, better supervision, making sure they have cutting-edge technology, and making sure that at least five percent of police force is involved in internal affairs.
O’Malley strongly believes that the Black Lives Matter movement has made a positive change in the consciousness of the nation. He elicited large applauses from the audience throughout the debate, especially with the statement he made towards the end.
“I think we do a disservice to the value of public discourse,” said O’Malley, “when in a nation like ours, with a history like ours, with an injustice of large proportions like ours when we say that the one area that this doesn’t apply is in criminal justice.”