David Thacher
@dtha15.bsky.social
Professor studying police history, police reform, policy responses to serious mental illness, ethics. Richard Olney & John Dewey stan. Dad to a danseur and a goalie; married to a historic preservationist
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dthacher/index.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dthacher/index.html
As you know I don't think police reform inherently takes that form--at its best it *can* be about substantive justice--but that's another convo.
November 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
As you know I don't think police reform inherently takes that form--at its best it *can* be about substantive justice--but that's another convo.
Yes this is a version of a widespread organizational pathology that arises far beyond policing (though it is especially dangerous there). "We're doing great, we just need better messaging!"
November 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Yes this is a version of a widespread organizational pathology that arises far beyond policing (though it is especially dangerous there). "We're doing great, we just need better messaging!"
Camp Pendleton is an important place for my family and these people are desecrating it, using it to cosplay their absurd tough guy fantasies bsky.app/profile/dtha...
I'm so fucking angry about what this administration is trying to do to these Marines. Multiple people in my extended family trained at Camp Pendleton. One rose to Lt. Colonel, another was killed in Afghanistan. This is not what they or any other Marine signs up for. It is an assault on their memory.
October 20, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Camp Pendleton is an important place for my family and these people are desecrating it, using it to cosplay their absurd tough guy fantasies bsky.app/profile/dtha...
(finally i have *never* seen so few cars on that stretch of I-8. but that is a boss sign, "live weapons over freeway" 😂.)
October 20, 2025 at 2:55 AM
(finally i have *never* seen so few cars on that stretch of I-8. but that is a boss sign, "live weapons over freeway" 😂.)
(also i took swimming lessons when i was 5 at a hotel at that freeway exit in the photo)
October 20, 2025 at 2:41 AM
(also i took swimming lessons when i was 5 at a hotel at that freeway exit in the photo)
What do we know about ICE accountability? Has anyone gotten answers on the process they use to investigate complaints, monitor compliance with investigative standards, &c? I realize the answers will be appalling but having them documented would be useful. They seem worse than a backwater local PD.
October 14, 2025 at 3:05 AM
What do we know about ICE accountability? Has anyone gotten answers on the process they use to investigate complaints, monitor compliance with investigative standards, &c? I realize the answers will be appalling but having them documented would be useful. They seem worse than a backwater local PD.
Aha! Here is.
I'm not saying don't make fun of the sheer ridiculousness of the Defense secretary making this is singular issue, nor his hypocrisy; but it's also more sinister.
bsky.app/profile/aclu...
I'm not saying don't make fun of the sheer ridiculousness of the Defense secretary making this is singular issue, nor his hypocrisy; but it's also more sinister.
bsky.app/profile/aclu...
Secretary Pete Hegseth's new facial hair grooming standards are discriminatory against troops who can't shave for religious reasons and Black and Brown people, who are more likely to have skin conditions that make shaving difficult and painful.
US Army unveils new grooming policy
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, initiated a militarywide review of standards earlier this year.
www.newsweek.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Aha! Here is.
I'm not saying don't make fun of the sheer ridiculousness of the Defense secretary making this is singular issue, nor his hypocrisy; but it's also more sinister.
bsky.app/profile/aclu...
I'm not saying don't make fun of the sheer ridiculousness of the Defense secretary making this is singular issue, nor his hypocrisy; but it's also more sinister.
bsky.app/profile/aclu...
Police departments have recently been changing their standards (often under court order) for precisely this reason. www.northjersey.com/story/news/2...
Police officers with religious garb, beards find protections in the law
Two Muslim officers sued Newark police 25 years ago for the right to wear a beard. Today, beards and religious garb are far more common in policing.
www.northjersey.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Police departments have recently been changing their standards (often under court order) for precisely this reason. www.northjersey.com/story/news/2...
But there are fields that actually get this and sociology should take a lesson. My Law & History Review article was 21,000+ words and it was about the midpoint in terms of length for articles in that issue. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Olmsted's Police | Law and History Review | Cambridge Core
Olmsted's Police - Volume 33 Issue 3
www.cambridge.org
September 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
But there are fields that actually get this and sociology should take a lesson. My Law & History Review article was 21,000+ words and it was about the midpoint in terms of length for articles in that issue. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
FWIW I've had good luck appealing to some editors pre-submission asking whether the word count is flexible. One said their publisher has recently given them more leeway on length.
September 26, 2025 at 3:26 PM
FWIW I've had good luck appealing to some editors pre-submission asking whether the word count is flexible. One said their publisher has recently given them more leeway on length.
Historical work too. It's a big problem. And god forbid you actually try to develop concepts along the way. Word count is far and away the main criterion I use when selecting journals these days.
September 26, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Historical work too. It's a big problem. And god forbid you actually try to develop concepts along the way. Word count is far and away the main criterion I use when selecting journals these days.
this report is a few years old so maybe things have changed, but fwiw (1) they did find that CCRB cases were slower, but (2) even DAO cases took ~a year on average. Partly because the office was understaffed. Accountable policing costs money.
September 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
this report is a few years old so maybe things have changed, but fwiw (1) they did find that CCRB cases were slower, but (2) even DAO cases took ~a year on average. Partly because the office was understaffed. Accountable policing costs money.
(It goes on from there. My favorite couplet:
You add square feet? That’s expansion in disguise,
ZBA gonna see through those planning lies.)
You add square feet? That’s expansion in disguise,
ZBA gonna see through those planning lies.)
September 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM
(It goes on from there. My favorite couplet:
You add square feet? That’s expansion in disguise,
ZBA gonna see through those planning lies.)
You add square feet? That’s expansion in disguise,
ZBA gonna see through those planning lies.)