Non Reformist Reforms towards Police Abolition

Non-Reformist-Reforms.rst

DOES THIS	Reduce funding to police?	challenge the notion that police increase safety?	reduce tools / tactics / tech for cops?	reduce the scale of policing?
Suspend the use of paid administrative leave for cops under investigation	Yes: city spends money on anything but killer cops’ salaries	Yes: does not assume that leave pay is just the cost of doing business	Yes: access to paid leave presumes right to use violence.	Yes: less financial support for police under investigation, the less support for policing
withhold pensions and don’t rehire cops involved in excessive force	Yes: city spends money on anything but killer cops’ salaries	If a cop kills someone, clearly its not worth all the “safety”	Yes: reduces ability of police to move around from dept to dept, re-engage in behavior + known violence	Yes
require cops to be liable for misconduct settlements	Yes: city spends money on anything but killer cops’ salaries	all damages from police are not “essential” to safety, they are in fact a problem, should be dealth with	Yes: pressure to increase accountability, limits legitimacy of violence as inevitable	Yes
cop overtime accrual + OT pay for military exercises	Yes: city spends money on anything but killer cops’ salaries	Yes: “counter terrorism” is not safety	Yes: Less weapon trainings leads to less planning to use them	Stops police from increasing legitimacy, capacity, skills to expand their reach into our daily lives and communities
withdraw participation in police militarization programs	Yes: city spends money on anything but making war on regular folks	Yes: “counter terrorism” is not safety	Yes: Less weapon trainings leads to less planning to use them	Stops police from increasing legitimacy, capacity, skills to expand their reach into our daily lives and communities
prioritize spending on community health, education, affordable housing	Yes: city spends money on anything but killer cops’ salaries	Yes: creates space to imagine, educate about, and create resources that actually create well-being	yes	decreases size scope and capacity of systems of policing
reduce the size of the police force	yes	yes	yes	yes

Reformist-Reforms.rst

DOES THIS	REDUCE POLICE FUNDING	challenge the notion that police increase safety?	reduce tools / tactics / tech for cops?	reduce the scale of policing?
BODY CAMERAS	INCREASES. Equipping police officers with body cameras will require more money going towards police budgets.	NO. Body cameras are pitched as making police more accountable, increasing the idea that policing, done “right,” makes people safe.	INCREASES. Body cameras will provide police w/another tool, inc’ing police budgets to aquire more gadgets.	INCREASES. Body cams presume only “excessive” force is threatening. Can be turned off, footage usu doesn’t have desired impact.
COMMUNITY POLICING	NO. Advocates of community policing argue that departments will have to hire more cops to be in neighborhoods and in the community.	No. This is based on the belief that policing is focused on keeping people safe, and the violence of policing is caused by a “breakdown of trust” with the community.	INCREASES. Cops are trained in additional tactics and approaches.	NO. More community police means the scale of policing will increase, particularly in Black, Brown, and poor neighborhoods, where there is perceived “mistrust”
MORE TRAINING	NO. More training will require more funding and resources going to police to develop and run trainings.	No. This furthers the belief that we can rely on police for safety, and that instances of police harm and violence occur b/c of lack of training	INCREASES: all of these	No. This will increase the scope of policing, given the type of training. E.g. some say for mental health training, furthering that police are the go to for every problem.
OVERSIGHT BOARDS	NO. In some cases increase, others no change.	NO, assumes that extra-judcial killing, lying, planting information are exceptions, rather than the norm	NO. Some argue CRB “with teeth” (bureaucratic powers) take away police tools. Such power not given to any board in 50 years.	NO. Further entrenches belief that police are a reformable system with a “community” mandate. Some boards become structurally invested in their existence.
JAIL KILLER COPS / PROSECUTE POLICE WHO HAVE ABUSED CIVILIANS	NO. Prosecution does not impact future police resources.	NO. Individualizing police violence is false distinction “good cop” v “bad cop”, assumption is that policing creates safety, vs police as system violence	NO. Often media attention in high profile leads to more tech and training	NO. Reinforces idea that “bad apples”/corrupt/killer cops are exceptions, and the system can be just, not violent