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There’s been a very large “abolish the police” sentiment surfacing after all that’s happened this week. Myself included! However, what I haven’t seen from anyone yet is a plan for what to replace the police with once it’s gone...so here’s a thread about it! (1/13)
For reference, the ideas I’ll be talking about here have been compared to an alternative policing system that exists in Norway. If the ideas here remind you of any other alternative policing plan you know of, leave a reply! (2/13)
So here’s the main idea: we need to shift the focus of law enforcement away from violent confrontation and arrests and towards de-escalation, community building, and compassion. How do we do this? (3/13)
First of all, we draw people from the community: volunteers. Regular people who just want to help others. Give them training on de-escalation, emergency mental health response, first-aid, maybe some basic self-defense practices for emergencies. (4/13)
Build a team of these volunteers and have a number of them on-call at all times when people need help. Important: they aren’t given weapons. Remember that most calls to the police right now are for non-violent concerns like noise complaints/traffic violations. (5/13)
Along with this team of volunteers, have a smaller, paid group of individuals whose job is to organize the volunteers, give trainings, keep records, etc. This group could easily be assisted by volunteers as well, maybe even entirely staffed by them! (6/13)
In the case that an armed assailant is actively threatening people’s lives, only then should any armed counter-group w/ guns come out. The power of law enforcement to use violence should be HEAVILY rolled back so that it’s only available in true emergency situations. (7/13)
Of course, there should be some sort of team of forensic investigators and detectives for when violent crimes, kidnappings, and other such events occur. (8/13)
Another thing: considering that today’s police force spends much of its time protecting the wealth of corporations, I propose that this new force to replace it spend absolutely NO resources doing so. If the business doesn’t come from the community, not our problem. (9/13)
It’s good to think about, when discussion crimes like theft, why those crimes occur in the first place. Oftentimes, folks feel like they have no opportunities in their current scenario, this idea being backed up by a police force that harasses and murders their community.(10/13)
Anyhow, here’s my summary: I believe that whatever we choose to replace the current police system with, it has to 1. Be made up of community members 2. Be focused on nonviolence 3. Be a group of people that you actually feel safer being around (11/13)
We need to give communities the power to help themselves, cuz honestly, wouldn’t they know how to do that best? (12/13)
If you have any more ideas or input about this new system, leave a reply! Let’s get this conversation going. Because if we really get the police abolished, we need to know what’s coming next. (13/13)
Share this thread if you feel like this would be a good idea! And tag any community organizers and experts that you know of who have more knowledge about this type of thing!
