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Condemning #GeorgeFloyd’s murder is not enough. Leaders, including those in healthcare, must do more than condemn structurally mediated racism & violence - we must help dismantle it.
How? Let’s recap evidence-based steps endorsed by @PublicHealth https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/29/law-enforcement-violence 1/x
How? Let’s recap evidence-based steps endorsed by @PublicHealth https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/29/law-enforcement-violence 1/x
1. Improve monitoring & surveillance of law enforcement violence: Advocate for expanded, mandatory reporting to CDC’s National Violent Death Report System (NVDRS). Hospitals - pressure local PDs & include this data in your CHNAs. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/ 2/x
2. Support decriminalization: “mass criminizalization is a key mechanism through which communities of color experience heightened rates of law enforcement violence”. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Blue-on-Black-Violence%3A-A-Provisional-Model-of-Some-Carbado/4e0c13d24a9cf0defa77f7b19a941d489bbc2536 3/x
“Decriminalization is consistent with the WHO recommendations for structural interventions that address social determinants of health for marginalized groups.” More here on this public health & racial equity imperative from @DrugPolicyOrg https://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugPolicyAlliance/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Approaches_to_Decriminalization_Feb2015_1.pdf 4/x
3. Divest & reallocate funds from policing & incarceration to the #SDoH: Militarizing the police is a health hazard, especially for black communities... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/police-militarization-fails-to-protect-officers-and-targets-black-communities-study-finds 5/x
Health professionals & leaders can demand government - at all levels - to divest from mass criminizalization & militarization of criminal justice institutions. Ask the same of hospital treasury & community benefits depts, philanthropies, & businesses https://divest.nfg.org/ 6/x
4. Invest in strategies to ensure community safety without armed law enforcement:
E.g. Community-based violence intervention programs have significantly reduced homicides & nonfatal shootings in neighborhoods with the highest numbers of incidents https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/effects-of-baltimores-safe-streets-program-on-gun-violence-a-repl-3 7/x
E.g. Community-based violence intervention programs have significantly reduced homicides & nonfatal shootings in neighborhoods with the highest numbers of incidents https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/effects-of-baltimores-safe-streets-program-on-gun-violence-a-repl-3 7/x
Condemn & Commit: If you’re a leader in health care who has taken the first step to condemn #GeorgeFloyd’s murder, your work is not done. Now commit your institution to advancing these evidence-based steps to dismantling structural violence & racism. https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/29/law-enforcement-violence 8/x
Another resource on urgently needed policy reforms from @policylink & @popdemoc More timely than ever. “A Toolkit for Promoting Justice in Policing” https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/JusticeInPolicing-9.pdf 9/9 fin.
