Five Years After George Floyd: Assessing the Impact on Policing and Justice

On the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the nation reflects on the widespread protests and demands for change that followed. The call for comprehensive reform targeted systemic racism within law enforcement and sought to overhaul policing practices.

Despite numerous legislative efforts and policy changes enacted across states and municipalities, data indicates that meaningful improvements in police accountability and reductions in officer-involved fatalities have been limited.

Reforms Implemented Since Floyd’s Death

Following Floyd’s murder, many states and police departments introduced bans on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, required the use of body cameras, revised de-escalation protocols, and enhanced training to address racial profiling. While reforms varied in scope and intensity from one jurisdiction to another, every state adopted at least some new policies aimed at improving policing.

In select cities, federal authorities stepped in with investigations that resulted in court-enforced consent decrees. These agreements compelled police departments to implement specific reforms and subjected them to ongoing federal oversight. For example, after Freddie Gray’s death in 2015 due to a dangerous police transport, Baltimore was mandated to enforce safer detainee transport procedures, including speed limits and functional seatbelts.

However, recent years have seen a rollback of federal oversight efforts. Notably, the previous administration halted investigations and monitoring of nearly two dozen police departments, signaling a shift away from rigorous federal enforcement.

Alarmingly, the number of fatal police shootings rose from just over 1,000 in 2019 to approximately 1,200 in 2024, with Black Americans continuing to be killed at nearly three times the rate of white Americans—mirroring the disparities observed before Floyd’s death.

Prosecutions related to police shootings have remained consistently low. A criminologist tracking these cases notes that fewer than 2 percent of fatal police shootings result in criminal charges, with 18 officers charged in 2015 and 16 in the previous year.

Reasons Behind Limited Progress

Experts attribute the slow pace of change to several factors. Firstly, many lawmakers rejected the majority of proposed reforms—states like Ohio, Minnesota, and Missouri declined over 98 percent of policing reform bills presented to their legislatures. Additionally, bipartisan efforts at the federal level failed to materialize.

Secondly, where reforms were enacted, they often fell short of fundamentally transforming policing culture and practices in the United States.

Public attention to police reform has also waned amid rising murder rates in 2020 and 2021, shifting public priorities toward crime reduction rather than systemic overhaul.

Some analysts emphasize that racial disparities in police violence stem not only from individual biases but also from higher crime rates concentrated in economically disadvantaged minority communities. Addressing these disparities requires broader social interventions beyond adjustments to police protocols and training.