No More Police: A Case for Abolition

by Mariame Kaba

But there are some Black communities that are calling for more police in the face of high rates of communal and interpersonal violence. We understand these calls from abandoned and oppressed communities as responses to what is perceived as a threat to take away the only resource offered by the state to respond to a multitude of problems—even if most of the time it operates like Russian roulette. Abolition is about creating real solutions to the violence produced by organized abandonment and organized violence through a multitude of resources and services, rather than a single response designed to contain, control, and kill. Economic conditions are the most reliable predictors of violence in our communities, and housing, health care, employment, and living-wage incomes are some of the most reliable prevention tools. But with up to—and sometimes more than—half of city budgets going to police departments, policymakers claim there is no money for these things, even though they are what will actually prevent and shift conditions that produce violence. Police abolition is a process of reallocating resources, funding, and responsibility away from police and toward community-based models of safety, support, and prevention. It is a long-term project that requires both shifting emergency response procedures and getting well ahead of crises by putting in place systems that actually create safer communities and prevent harm.