The act of seizing a person to take into custody. An arrest must be based on probable cause.

A civil proceeding to permanently seize property that has been used for criminal activity.

Any action a police officer takes that is influenced by bias (explicit or implicit), prejudice, or discrimination.

A search that involves inspection of a body cavity (i.e.,rectum, vagina

An approach to law enforcement that assumes that enforcement of minor offenses will prevent future crime.

A planned activity, or set of activities, carried out over a period of time with the purpose of achieving social or political change.

A physical, hands-on maneuver that cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain.

A formal collection of community members that aim to hold police officers and police departments accountable for their actions and policies. Oversight bodies should represent all sectors of a community, including those disproportionately targeted by policing.

A lawsuit that seeks to establish a pattern or practice of an ongoing problem within a police department by showing multiple examples of the issue at hand. Typically, the goal of a class action lawsuit is to prompt change in policy or training at a department.

A group of several organizations who share an interest in a particular issue and come together to work on that issue.

Conduct both on and off duty that is facilitated by the authority vested in police officers, including through official vehicles, equipment, or information.

A holistic approach to law enforcement in which police departments actively build meaningful relationships with community members to improve public safety and advance community goals.

A decision-making process wherein everyone in the group agrees to allow a decision to be made before the group moves forward. In contrast to majority rules decision-making processes, consensuses ensure that all voices and opinions in the room are heard. In modified consensuses, a group strives(...)

A court-ordered agreement that outlines changes that police departments must make to comply with the U.S. Constitution. Often, independent monitors oversee consent decrees.

An approach to policing that diverts individuals experiencing mental health crisis or substance use disorders from standard criminal justice processing at the front end and directing them instead to appropriate treatment settings.

An individual incident of excessive or lethal force or police misconduct. Individuals and organizations promoting police reform often use critical incidents to put pressure on officials to make necessary changes to policing policies and practices as well as to increase accountability and oversight.

The process of removing or reducing a criminal classification, usually by establishing a preference for issuing a warning or summons rather than making an arrest.

Privilegethat protects information about internal decision-making processes in an agency to enable decision-makers to express themselves candidly and explore different solutions before settling on a final policy or decision.

A program that implements rehabilitative strategies and services instead of traditional criminal punishment.

Conscious prejudices, attitudes, or stereotypes held against a person or group of people.

Practices and relationships that demonstrate fairness and respect outside a police department (i.e.,between the police department and the community).

The application of physical strength for coercive purposes. Police use of force can range from the use of hands, legs, batons, or other equipment, including vehicles, handcuffs, restraints, pepper spray, tear gas, water cannons, canines, Tasers, and firearms.

A formal request for full or partial disclosure on request of information and documents the government controls. The federal government and all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws mandating that information that public agencies and officials keep be made available on request to(...)

A pat-down or search of a person’s outer clothing. A frisk must be based on a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the subject of the frisk is armed and presents a danger to a police officer during a lawful investigatory stop. Unless the police officer feels something that could be a weapon(...)

The socially constructed set of characteristics typically associated with a “gender binary” in Western-dominant culture or two dominantly accepted gender expressions of masculinity and femininity. Many cultures, including cultures indigenous to the United States, recognize more than two(...)

An external manifestation of gender, expressed through a person’s name, personal pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics. Western-dominant culture identifies these cues as masculine or feminine, although they vary by culture.

A person’s internal, deeply held sense of their gender. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others and can shift over time.

A term used to describe people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity.

Restraining a person in a prone position by tying their wrists and ankles together behind them.

Subconscious biases that have been imparted to each of us by our received culture and the experiences, images, and media we consume, which influence and affect our daily actions and interactions.

Practices and policies that demonstrate fairness and respect within a police department.

State laws that limit and set conditions on investigations of police misconduct and discipline, including limitations on public release of information.

Privilege that allows law enforcement agencies to withhold information about current investigations or information that, if released, would interfere with legitimate law enforcement interests.

Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning.

Standing, hanging out, or lingering in a public place. Many jurisdictions have statutes or ordinances against loitering that give police the power to arrest someone who refuses to vacate the space.

The legal duty of police to make an arrest when responding to intimate partner violence calls if they find probable cause to believe an offense has been committed.

Notification of constitutional rights read to a person before being taken into police custody

The person who initiates a lawsuit or makes a legal complaint.

Like other workforce unions, police unions represent individual police officers and negotiate union contracts with police departments, including provisions on discipline and accountability. Police unions often take an active role in advocating for legislation and policies favorable to police(...)

A collective study process to bring greater clarity to historical factors that have affected marginalized or oppressed people and led to current societal or political conditions. Such education incorporates and builds on people’s lived experiences to draw larger connections to the world around(...)

Death that results from being placed in a position that interferes with the ability to breathe.

Use of data and computer systems to automatically forecast where and when crime will occur.

A stop that a police officer makes, with or without probable cause or reasonable suspicion, that allows the officer to then investigate a separate, unrelated, or suspected criminal offense.

An individual’s right to sue a police officer or department.

Policing strategies intended to prevent or reduce crime. (See “Predictive Policing.”)

A belief, based on specific facts, that would lead a reasonable police officer to conclude that it is likely that a person has broken a law.

A term used to describe treating individuals fairly and respectfully during police interactions. (See “External Procedural Justice”and “Internal Procedural Justice”)

Latinx is a gender-neutral term used to refer to people of Central and South American descent.

The act of generalizing a person or group of people based on personal attributes. In the policing context, profiling refers to the act of presumingthat a person or group of people are involved in criminal activity. Profiling can be based on intentional discrimination or widely held biases and(...)

A legal standard for an officer to perform a search; it must be based on facts known to the officer at the time of the search and must be more than a “hunch” or a profile.

A legal document authorizing the search of a home or business.

A scientifically accurate term for an individual’s enduring physical, romantic, or emotional attraction to other people.

Highly militarized teams created to handle hostage, active shooter situations, terrorism and, in certain situations, to execute drug warrants.

When police temporarily detain somebody and pat down their outer clothing when there are specific, articulable facts leading a reasonable police officer to believe that a person is armed and dangerous.Stop-and-frisk is also sometimes referred to as a “Terry stop,” derived from the U.S. Supreme(...)

A broad plan for achieving a goal.

A search that involves partial or full removal of a person’s clothing.

A planned action, task, or procedure used to fulfill a strategy.

A weapon that delivers electric currents to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing temporary paralysis.

An umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex assigned at birth.