No More Police: A Case for Abolition

by Mariame Kaba

Contrary to popular misconceptions, elimination of policing and punishment doesn’t mean that there will be no consequences for violence or harm. Instead, abolition focuses on accountability rather than punishment. Punishment is inflicting suffering for the sake of hurting someone, it does not require the person punished to do anything in particular but suffer the punishment; accountability is the voluntary process of stepping into responsibility for causing harm and committing to repair the harm.4 Whether or not a person steps into accountability, abolition contemplates consequences for acts of violence or harm. Consequences are nonpunitive responses that are necessary to increase safety for both the person harmed and the community. Importantly, these consequences do not deny the dignity and humanity of the person who caused harm, or their potential for transformation. A world without policing is not a world where violence is allowed to proceed unchecked. To the contrary, as discussed in greater detail in the “Experiment and Build” chapter, it is a world that creates greater possibilities for prevention, interruption, healing, and repair of violence by meeting material needs, fostering mutual accountability, and imposing effective consequences when necessary.