POGO: Addressing institutional racism

This week, we revisited two issues related to law enforcement and the systems that enable racism and violence.

June 6, 2020

This week was a tough one. As we were processing our grief over the loss of Black lives at the hands of police officers and vigilantes, we watched as some of our elected leaders responded to protests over these deaths with a call for yet more aggression from law enforcement. This left us outraged, and many of you are likely feeling the same way.   So we took some time to reflect as an organization and determine what steps we can take to fight back against the institutional racism in our country that’s dominated headlines recently. While we will follow the lead of racial justice groups working toward equality, we at the Project On Government Oversight also want to use our strengths to make an impact.   This week, we revisited two issues related to law enforcement and the systems that enable racism and violence. We dug into the militarization of the police, which increased a few decades ago when the Pentagon began transferring surplus equipment to state and local police forces. Our law enforcement institutions have been plagued with racism for centuries, but this program has undoubtedly fostered a mindset among police officers that they are warriors, not guardians of the public. We must work to reverse this attitude and more stringently monitor and regulate local police departments’ use of military equipment. We plan to make recommendations for the federal government and state stakeholders to employ in order to reverse the tide of militarization of the police.   We also put together a guide on how to respond to the invasive surveillance methods police use to monitor demonstrations. Law enforcement has engaged in surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters in the past, and POGO was the first to spot last week that Customs and Border Protection deployed a military drone to circle Minneapolis during the protests there.   This is just a start for us. As an organization focused on abuse of power, we will continue to place additional emphasis on our efforts to reform and hold accountable the government institutions that allow systemic racism to persist in our nation. ANALYSIS How to Respond to Risk of Surveillance While Protesting Over the past week, protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis have spread across the nation, even as law enforcement’s response to those protests has escalated in nature and has endangered demonstrators. In this situation, protesters may also be worried about the potential for surveillance to be used against them. Read More ANALYSIS Statement on the Recent Police Violence against Black People and Peaceful Protesters The Project On Government Oversight commits to increasing our focus on breaking down the barriers to accountability that allow institutional racism to fester. Read More INVESTIGATION CDC Whistleblower Identified the "Fatal Flaw" in Testing Years Ago A CDC scientist warned years ago that the federal government’s virus testing efforts would be too slow during a rapidly moving outbreak like the one we're facing now. Read More ANALYSIS "Insecurity": How the Trump Administration is Placing Border Wall Speed before the Law Even during the global coronavirus pandemic, the administration has continued to prioritize the construction of 576 miles of the new "border wall system" along the Mexico-United States border, risking public health, taxpayer funds, and the environment and wildlife. Read More ANALYSIS Inspectors General Wanted: Swamp Creatures Need Not Apply Against the backdrop of the president’s recent attacks on independent oversight, particularly his removals of several top watchdogs, his unqualified picks for several inspector general posts are all the more alarming. Read More ANALYSIS Brother, Can You Spare a Missile? The nuclear triad isn't really necessary, but the Air Force will spend billions on a new nuclear-tipped missile. Read More ANALYSIS Raytheon Lobbyist Turned Defense Secretary Offers Proposal to Preserve the Swamp The Senate Armed Services Committee will debate the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, and we'll be watching to see if the Pentagon's proposal to weaken ethics rules is included. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “With millions of people out of work and small business owners across the country worried they will not be able to weather this storm, we should be focusing our efforts at helping them rather than giving handouts to defense contractors.” Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow, in the Washington Post OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “The government seems to want to be able to be monitoring the crowds and monitoring what people are doing.” Jake Laperruque, Senior Counsel with The Constitution Project at POGO, in CNN   “You can’t create oversight mechanisms, leave them to wither and die, and then take credit for creating oversight mechanisms.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in the Daily Beast   “In a way, it’s really clever of the White House to target this particular universe of offices … because they are uniquely able to ferret out misconduct and corruption, which is why they were created in the first place.” Danielle Brian, Executive Director, in the Christian Science Monitor

pogo.org The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.

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