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Road to Reform: The Case for Removing Police from Traffic Regulation

Posted by on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 in Articles, En Banc, Notes and Comments, Volume 75.

Aaron Megar | 75 Vand. L. Rev. En Banc 13 (2022) |

This Note advocates for the removal of police from traffic-law enforcement and the creation of unarmed Civilian Traffic Forces (“CTF”) at the municipal and state levels. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Whren, there has been a significant amount of legal scholarship criticizing pretextual policing and the consequential discriminatory traffic policing that was validated by Whren. There is very little published scholarship, however, that whole-heartedly advocates for the removal of police from traffic-law enforcement and the creation of a CTF system. The CTF will be a government organization of unarmed civilians that replaces police in enforcing traffic laws, but will be limited on when they can contact police and what they can do after stopping and ticketing a driver. The intention is to lessen the divide between communities and police by lessening the number of unpleasant encounters, thereby also reducing police violence and abuse.

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AUTHOR:

Aaron Megar