This was right about the time I became an abolitionist. Many of the largest police forces are not really under civilian control and they take 30-50% of discretionary funds with budgets that only grow regardless of what harm they do or any proof that their actions increase safety. - ThreadSky

devawo.bsky.social • 7 days ago

This was right about the time I became an abolitionist. Many of the largest police forces are not really under civilian control and they take 30-50% of discretionary funds with budgets that only grow regardless of what harm they do or any proof that their actions increase safety.

Reposted from Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis

The last time nyc had a mayor who tried to mildly reign in police violence they doxxed his daughter so

Comments

redshift42.bsky.social•6 days ago

My moment was being on a volunteer board for my county during the Great Recession and to plan for budget cuts, all departments were asked to outline how they'd handle 5, 10, 15% cuts. The sheriff's department response was "we'd have to stop providing security at the courthouse" and nothing else.

devawo.bsky.social•6 days ago

Yep. Extortionate practices. Operating very much like a gang in many places.

jeff-besitos.bsky.social•7 days ago

The last time there was any serious institutional pushback to the SFPD, they bombed the mayor’s house. People never believe me when I tell them this.

kurtrexcooper.bsky.social•7 days ago

The only way to change police departments is to change the laws and penalties regarding crime.

Example

If you look at anti-marijuana laws. When marijuana started becoming legal. Fewer people were being arrested. Fewer people put in jail.

Low wages and poor healthcare are also tied into this .

blueskyeddie.bsky.social•7 days ago

They pay upwards of 10% of that budget back to the civilians that they "protect" via lawsuit settlements

devawo.bsky.social•7 days ago

Yep. I had a fun time just giving a skeptical relative the run down on how much these departments pay out for the harm they do. There hasn’t been a riot in 100+ years that matches the yearly tallies of big city excessive force/wrongful death/various abuse pay outs.

topmarx.bsky.social•7 days ago

There's lots of different compositions of police depending on size and area, but for large cities especially it feels like the mid-century Occupying Army model has only gotten more relevant.

differance.bsky.social•7 days ago

Abolition is far harder than reform

devawo.bsky.social•7 days ago

I guess. If you find a reformed department let me know.

differance.bsky.social•7 days ago

I’ve never deliberately looked, but I do think there are strategies for getting it done. What’s missing is the will and the imagination. But I don’t see any prospect for abolishing police.

rajelaran.cyberelf.space•7 days ago

They're essentially the same thing. An effectively reformed police force is so far removed from our current model of police that what you've done is abolish the police.

differance.bsky.social•7 days ago

Except that’s not what anybody hears or thinks abolition means

devawo.bsky.social•7 days ago

I dunno. It’s what I think & it’s what I’m telling lots of people abolition means because that’s how I learned it from the folks who bought the term/mvmt into the 21st c. Others can/are learning too. Political understandings/possibilities change over time. As we witness literally everyday.

varric-fan69.bsky.social•7 days ago

The system itself is Bad

devawo.bsky.social•7 days ago

I agree there’s a lack of will & imagination but will & imagination could as easily & more fruitfully be applied to shrinking & redistributing police budgets while investing in basic social supports.That’s the process of abolition.It’s more strategic and at least as likely as a “reformed” police.

differance.bsky.social•7 days ago

The problem is that if you openly pursue that process, you’re done for, even though it is actually a process of reform rather than abolition

elementaleucology.com•7 days ago

There is a difference between reforming society (i.e. shifting what we prioritize/spend on) and reforming police or policing (shifting what their core functions are or modifying their tactics/technologies).

These are often intentionally conflated but the former is the clearly abolitionist project.

topmarx.bsky.social•7 days ago

When you do deliberately look, you're gonna see a very common story: the city goes to the police with their demands, the police say "nuh uh", and then nothing meaningfully changes.

differance.bsky.social•7 days ago

Why would you go to the police with demands? Mayors get to appoint police chiefs. Cities control police budgets. They set the rules. There are lots of points of leverage that have nothing to do with making demands

topmarx.bsky.social•7 days ago

Austin tried all of that and it didn't do anything. The police were literally operating without a contract for a while. It turns out that this stuff doesn't actually make the police weaker, it just makes them an angry political actor.

Also don't be pedantic, all of those things are making demands.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply