Resources

This curriculum resource is anchored in the following principle: that punishment actually undermines safety. I am defining punishment here as inflicting suffering on others in response to an experience of harm/violence/wrongdoing. The practice of punishment is harmful and destructive. We cannot effectively teach people not to harm others by harming them.

Chicago is one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world. Cameras, automatic license plate readers, cell site simulators and many other surveillance devices are currently used in the city by the Chicago Police Department and its sister agencies. However, many Chicago residents are unaware of the scope of the surveillance systems, their huge cost, and the privacy implications of their use. Lucy Parsons Lab surveys the major parts of the surveillance system in Chicago with respect to costs, capabilities, efficacy, and legal and privacy concerns.

On November 20th, Triad Abolition Project, Hate Out Of Winston, and Drum Majors Alliance co-signed a letter to city council, which did not receive a response from any Council member nor the city’s Mayor. On November 29th, the Winston-Salem Journal published “Police-spending critics call on city to discuss their concerns.” The People’s Report is a community dialogue in response to the Journal’s story, and continued conversation on the topic of divesting from WSPD as our city approaches the FY2021-2022 budget cycle.

In 2015, The Washington Post began to log every fatal shooting by an on-duty police officer in the United States. In that time there have been more than 5,000 such shootings recorded by The Post.

This report is a review of the community safety process in Brattleboro, Vermont. This community safety review process sought to understand the current state of the community safety systems in Brattleboro and their impact on community members’ actual experiences of safety, danger, or harm. The process was led by two core facilitators and informed and guided by a nine-member committee, who each brought their own identities, perspectives and lived experiences. From October through December, this team sought input from community members about their experiences with safety, danger, harm and safety response systems. All community members were welcomed to share their experiences and visions, and engagement efforts were focused on connecting with individuals who carry marginalized identities and who are most impacted by policing and police-like systems. We heard from over 200 community members and professionals working in over 25 organizations. We also performed a quality review of the Brattleboro Police Department policies, practices, and some areas of data collection. The Town of Brattleboro has embarked on a courageous and imperative process of evaluating community experiences with safety, danger, harm and policing/safety systems. This step must be followed next by action.

Civil forfeiture allows police to seize property on the mere suspicion that it is involved in criminal activity. Prosecutors can then forfeit, or permanently keep, the property without ever charging its owner with a crime. By contrast, criminal forfeiture requires prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an owner is guilty of a crime and then, in the same proceeding, prove the property is connected to the crime. This report demonstrates that local, state and federal agencies use civil forfeiture to collectively forfeit billions of dollars each year.

On International Human Rights Day, the Center for Constitutional Rights outlines necessary steps that the Biden administration and the 117th Congress must take to begin shifting power back to the people. Our 100-day demands, rooted in human rights and international law, challenge systemic discrimination and the unjust distribution of power and public resources and amplify the future visions articulated by impacted communities and movements for social justice. In defining immediately actionable, rights-based measures for the federal government, we are guided not by what is practical, but by what is necessary, just, life-giving, and liberatory.

This memo provides brief background information on the history of police unions in the United States and their role in relation to the policing profession. It also highlights the obstacles that police unions and their contracts create for accountability, reform efforts, and campaigns that challenge police union power in order to overcome those obstacles. The relatively successful case study of Austin, TX is detailed as an example for challenging police union power at the local level. Finally, this memo provides specific recommendations for research, organizing, and policy developments when challenging police union power.

This kit is designed to consolidate the information regarding Invest Divest strategy and resources for Louisville, Kentucky. This kit is intended to be used for the following: refer to this document for campaigning at the social media level, share this document with your base, and hold teach-ins and trainings on the uses of narrative and social media for this campaign, post directly from your own personal channels, and share to and from the partner organizations listed here.