#AbolishPolice #InvestInHousing
One of our mission pillars at EB PREC is #RestorativeEconomics. We’re working on dismantling the capitalist housing system, which upholds white supremacy, so that our folks can thrive.
We’ve talked a lot about real estate capitalism and the racial wealth gap. We’ve also talked about how the fight against police brutality is also a fight for affordable housing.
But today, let’s talk about the role of the police in protecting capitalism, beyond individual instances of police brutality. By the end of this post, we hope to convince you that we need to #DefundThePolice and #InvestInHousing.
Origin of Police
In 1838, Boston formed the first publicly funded police force in the United States with full-time officers. Boston merchants were tired of paying security guards to protect their property. So, they came up with a brilliant plan. The merchants convinced the community that a publicly funded police force would protect the “collective good.” By doing this, they saved money and placed the burden of paying for policing on the taxpayers.
In the South, the demand for police services was also to protect “property.” And by “protect property,” of course they meant “chase runaway enslaved people” and “prevent revolts organized by enslaved people.” In 1866, Virginia passed an Act Providing for the Punishment of Vagrants, shortly after hundreds of thousands of Black people were freed from slavery and rendered homeless. By the time abolition movements swept the Americas in the late 1880’s, all major U.S. cities had publicly funded police forces.
Fast Forward to 2020
This viral tweet by an employment lawyer recently illustrated how the policing of “crime” is just a social construct:
“If you steal $100 from your employer, you will get arrested. If you call the police because your paycheck is $100 light, the police will tell you to file a complaint with the AG.”
And this is because the purpose of the police force has not changed since the time they were formed to protect the property rights of merchants and traffickers of enslaved people. It’s no surprise then that the police don’t actually protect us.
In the #BlackLivesMatter uprising, there have been calls for community control of the police. There have also been calls to #defundthepolice. We endorse the latter call to action because the time for “police accountability, diversity, and training” has long passed.
And while it might sound radical, the call to defund the police is actually an intuitive, sound solution that everyday people come up with on their own when given the chance. Everyday people understand that since the police aren’t here to protect the people we care about, defunding them won’t hurt us. In fact, it’ll free up money for housing, social workers, violence intervention programs, parks, libraries, after-school programs, and more!
BlackLivesMatterLA has shown that if the community controlled the budget, they would take money away from the police (like… a LOT of money) and invest in housing, health care, mental health and wellness, etc. The Community Democracy Project has surveyed Oakland residents who have come up with the same answer.
Defund the police. Invest in housing.
Some government leaders are listening. A few days ago in Minneapolis, the City Council pledged to dismantle the police. In Los Angeles, the mayor slashed the LAPD budget by more than $100 million. In New York, dozens of city council candidates are advocating for a $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget.
That's just a start. We need to abolish the police and invest in universal needs. The best way to do that is through community control of the budget. In Oakland, last year, the city conducted a survey asking residents about their top issues. For the first time in decades, the people chose housing and homelessness over police and public safety. And yet, without a participatory budgeting process, the city continues to spend the most on the police department.
That’s why we co-hosted a Community Control Planning Hour in Defense of Black Lives last week with the Community Democracy Project and other groups. To plan next steps to gain community control of land and housing in particular, join us in Part 4 of our Scenario Planning Calls.
To learn more about police abolition, check out these resources by the group Critical Resistance and this set of demands by #8toAbolition.
