From the highest public offices in D.C. down to beat cops on the street, every level of government authority is susceptible to abuse. While police misconduct is reported almost daily on local newscasts around the United States, the topic receives relatively little national attention from policymakers and opinion-leaders. It is easy to lose sight of the breadth of the abuses by those on the front lines of the government: law enforcement. From excessive use of force, to the disregard of constitutional rights and the rule of law, to the militarization of police departments, police misconduct is a problem that threatens grave harm to individual civil liberties from the smallest town to the biggest city.

Tim Lynch, Cato’s director of the project on criminal justice, will join us to discuss these issues and Cato’s Police Misconduct Reporting Project. The goal is to increase law enforcement accountability by shining a light on the patterns of abuse observed across the country, thereby enabling citizens and policymakers to grasp how large a problem it is and to develop policies to combat these abuses. Tim will discuss these issues and take your questions on the topic.

This special online-only series is an opportunity to hear from Cato’s policy staff. Our thanks for your continued support of the Cato Institute. We hope you’ll join in on the discussion.