After years wasted on task force committees to reform the state’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR), activists were shortchanged.
Leadership in the General Assembly took the proposed bill and “cut its guts out,” as long-time lobbyist Bobby Byrd would say, wasting the time of activists who ultimately took the unprecedented step of calling out publicly their lack of confidence in ongoing police reform efforts.
Thousands of words were written making reasonable and clear arguments for reform to what is objectively a horrible law that blocks accountability in policing. Lawmakers disregarded our rationale.
In 2023, after a heated and controversial debate, House Bills 205 and 206 were passed. They offered only cosmetic changes. The police reform movement in Delaware stagnated.
NOCAP Delaware will reinvigorate this effort! This is our plan:
Successful public safety cannot rely on only one approach whereby armed agents respond to incidents always prepared to control situations with “force” (a euphemism for violence). A 21st century society requires many options to deal with public safety.
The power dynamic in policing is fully slanted toward armed police and there is no real independent oversight. The police themselves determine if law enforcement officers break the rules. These investigations are done in secret and only made public in a very narrow set of circumstances. There are no alternate response models available. It’s currently one size fits all.
NOCAP Delaware will demand new laws to decrease the number and type of incidents armed police respond to and implement a robust program of civil oversight, including independent investigation and disciplinary action.
Research teams are being organized along two distinct tracks. First, study and develop a statewide program of independent investigatory oversight of public safety officers. Second, alternative response models that work to remove the potential for violent force from situations when it is not required.
“After years of stalled progress and being given less than the bare minimum in HBs 205 and 206, Delaware police reform is at a breaking point,” said Communication lead Kristina Kelly. “NOCAP is determined to shatter this inaction and demand the bold, transformative change that our communities deserve — accountability, justice, and safety for all.”
Wilmington activist Lakeisha Nix will be an Outreach and Action coordinator for NOCAP Delaware. She had this to say:
It’s unfortunate that I’ve been ushered into this fight for Justice by way of injustice after the murder of my brother Lymond Moses. Nonetheless, I’m dedicated to prevention of police violence via community led solutions. Whether it’s changing laws or implementing a culture on the ground to change the narrative, I’m for it and I’m for NOCAP and anyone committed to this work.
Volunteer roles are available. Contact [email protected]
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1In Byrd’s biography, Byrd of Legislative Hall (Regent Press, 2019), he boasts of killing or cutting the guts out of proposed legislation at the behest of special interests, and adds that he “made an art out of that.” (p.38) The book was co-authored with Celia Cohen.