Thursday, September 15, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Reform Through Insurance
A fascinating piece now in the Washington Post highlights a striking new development: police reforms implemented because insurers demanded it.
In several places across the country, two specific reforms-- the reduction of high-speed chases and lessening the police's use of force-- are being driven by insurance companies that have threatened to jack up rates if changes aren't made.
This kind of reform-by-insurance is nothing new. A raft of narcotics task forces in Texas repeatedly got in trouble for racist practices. What drove them out of business is that they no longer could get insurance.
Sometimes, it is these private (and self-interested) interventions that make the biggest difference because we live in a culture where budgets can mean a lot more than protests.
