This volume of The Reference Shelf looks at the challenges facing police, from funding and staffing shortages to the influence of political polarization. The changing public perception of police and calls for reform are also examined. The controversial "Defund the Police" and "Black Lives Matter" protests against police brutality are covered, while other articles explore policing and immigration enforcement, mental health and de-escalation training, and law enforcement during civil rights protests. Also explored are the ways in which the onset of COVID-19 has changed policing and how these changes might impact the future of policing after the pandemic. -- Provided by publisher.

1.Police force -- Understanding police brutality -- The long, painful history of police brutality in the U.S. / Katie Nodjimbadem -- What the police really believe / Zack Beauchamp -- George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America / Kadijatou Diallo and John Shattuck -- 10 things we know about race and policing in the U.S. / Drew DeSilver, Michael Lipka, and Dalia Fahmy -- Why statistics don't capture the full extent of the systemic bias in policing / Laura Bronner -- 2. Policing in place -- Community policing and the role of police -- Polling finds a divide in how Americans view police and protestors / Timothy Rich, et al. -- The negative consequences of entangling local policing and immigration enforcement / Danyelle Solomon, Tom Jawetz, and Sanam Malik -- Has ICE found a way to get around sanctuary policies? / Jack Herrera -- Calls for reform bring renewed focus to community policing, but does it work? / Candice Norwood -- 3. Plague policing -- Policing in the age of COVID-19 -- Policing during the coronavirus pandemic / Ed Chung, Betsy Pearl, and Lea Hunter -- Explainer: why police will be crucial players in the battle against coronavirus / Terry Goldsworthy and Robyn Lincoln -- Do we really need the COVID-19 police? / Marc Siegel -- U.S. policing after wave one of COVID-19 / Vanda Felbab-Brown -- COVID-19 curbs community policing at a time of diminishing trust / David Montgomery -- 4. Training days -- Police education and policy -- Police reformers push for de-escalation training, but the jury is out on its effectiveness / Erin Schumaker -- Private company moves to profit from New York's police reforms / Alice Speri -- Police reforms stall around the country, despite new wave of activism / Nolan D. McCaskill -- Could "insight policing" have saved Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray and others? / Megan Price -- 5. Steps toward reform -- Solving problems for a better policing system -- "Perfect storm": defund the police, COVID-19 lead to biggest police budget cuts in decade / Kevin Johnson and Kristine Phillips -- Los Angeles cuts LAPD spending, taking police staffing to its lowest level in 12 years / David Zahniser, Dakota Smith, Emily Alpert Reyes -- What exactly does it mean to defund the police? / Amanda Arnold -- The defunding debate / Jack Herrera -- 6. Policing the digital citizen -- Technology in policing -- The Microsoft police state: mass surveillance, facial recognition, and the Azure Cloud / Michael Kwet -- Cops in Miami, NYC arrest protesters from facial recognition matches / Kate Cox -- Police are using facial recognition for minor crimes because they can / Alfred Ng -- Body cameras are seen as key to police reform: but do they increase accountability? / Candice Norwood -- Body cameras may not be the easy answer everyone was looking for / Lindsey Van Ness -- Amazon's doorbell camera Ring is working with police--and controlling what they say / Kari Paul -- How to reform police monitoring of social media / Rachel Levinson-Waldman and Angel Diaz.