Calling the police often escalates situations, puts people at risk, and leads to violence. Anytime you seek help from the police, you’re inviting them into your community and putting people who may already be vulnerable into dangerous situations. Sometimes people feel that calling the police is the only way to deal with problems. But we can build trusted networks of mutual aid that allow us to better handle conflicts ourselves and move toward forms of transformative justice, while keeping police away from our neighborhoods.
Don’t feel obligated to defend property—especially corporate “private” property. Before confronting someone or contacting the police, ask yourself if anyone is being hurt or endangered by property “theft” or damage. If the answer is “no,” then let it be.
If something of yours is stolen and you need to file a report for insurance or other purposes, consider going to the police station instead of bringing cops into your community. You may inadvertently be putting someone in your neighborhood at risk.
If you observe someone exhibiting behavior that seems “odd” to you, don’t assume that they are publicly intoxicated. A traumatic brain injury or a similar medical episode may be occurring. Ask if they are OK, if they have a medical condition, and if they need assistance.
If you see someone pulled over with car trouble, stop and ask if they need help or if you can call a tow truck for them. If the police are introduced to such a situation, they may give punitive and unnecessary tickets to people with car issues, target those without papers, or worse.
Keep a contact list of community resources like suicide hotlines. When police are contacted to “manage” such situations, people with mental illness are sixteen times more likely to be killed by cops than those without mental health challenges.
Check your impulse to call the police on someone you believe looks or is acting “suspicious.” Is their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or housing situation influencing your choice? Such calls can be death sentences for many people.
Encourage teachers, coworkers, and organizers to avoid inviting police into classrooms, workplaces, and public spaces. Instead, create for a culture of taking care of each other and not unwittingly putting people in harm’s way. If you’re part of a group that’s holding a rally or demonstration, don’t get a permit or otherwise cooperate with the police.
If your neighbor is having a party and the noise is bothering you, go over and talk to them. Getting to know your neighbors with community events like monthly block parties is a good way to make asking them to quiet down a little less uncomfortable, or to find another neighbor who is willing to do so.
If you see someone peeing in public, just look away! Remember, for example, that many houseless people do not have reliable access to bathrooms.
Hold and attend deescalation, conflict resolution, first-aid, volunteer medic, and self-defense workshops in your neighborhood, school, workplace, or community organization.
Street art is beautiful! Don’t report graffiti and other street artists. If you see work that includes fascistic or hate speech, paint over it yourself or with friends.
Remember that police can escalate domestic violence situations. You can support friends and neighbors who are being victimized by abusers by offering them a place to stay, a ride to a safe location, or to watch their children. Utilize community resources like safe houses and hotlines.
Police have a long history of using excessive force and being excessively punitive against anyone who looks different. Literally the first police force in the country were slave catchers and they never left those roots.
Edit: holy shit did you actually forget to change alts before replying to yourself?! Good job! Bravo!
Y’know what, reviewing your post history, I believe you. You happened to step on a landmine though with your above comment about criminals, because the general problem of overpolicing and excessive force is reinforced by a laws that help perpetuate it.
For an extreme example, if you make it illegal to sleep under a bridge, any homeless person trying to get some rest in a public space that happens to provide a little bit of shelter is now a criminal. But do you think the police are going to hassle grampa who dozed off sitting at a park bench because it’s 3pm and he usually has had a nap by now? And when the newly deemed criminal gets upset about being arrested for just trying to get some shut eye that can be determined to be resisting arrest therefore the police can use more force. Maybe that triggers some PTSD and they start fighting back in which case the amount of force escelates.
The law and the criminal justice system are unfortunately designed to perpetuate a cycle of criminalism. Punitive prisons and sentencing make it difficult for anyone who has been arrested to adjust to living in society again. Parole and probation (the supposed support structure provided to people as they leave the prison system) is structured to penalize folks who already have it rough for struggling to make ends meet, and can quickly land people back in prison for offenses as simple as having work schedule them during their mandated parole meetings and needing to choose between potentially losing their job and becoming homeless or potentially being arrested again. Or they might find that they can make an actual living wage working in a black market (drugs, vehicle chop shop, etc.) because having a record excludes them from better paying employment options that offer a better work-life balance. Or maybe they couldn’t afford the restitution payments required (fines that were part of their sentence and fees for participating in the justice system) they go back to prison and ultimately come out much later even less able to adjust and the cylce continues until they die in prison, die homeless living in a gutter or die a death related to whatever trade they can pick up with their criminal record (industrial accident, drug overdose, gang violence, take your pick)
So yeah in short, some folks have a tight line to walk so that their existence isn’t criminalized
I see, over policing. Here police try to solve domestic(family) disputes without registering complains & overlook trivial offenses. And in local area, people usual approach respected locals & panchayat first. because it is common sense that justice system is unnecessarily expensive & takes a lot time to deliver justice.
I’m having trouble telling if the person who wrote that was trolling, or just really fucking stupid.
If your neighbor is having a party and the noise is bothering you, go over and talk to them. Getting to know your neighbors with community events like monthly block parties is a good way to make asking them to quiet down a little less uncomfortable, or to find another neighbor who is willing to do so.
Before I even read the thing, “here’s the link, I havent read it myself” is the single most gigachad thing I’ve ever read, you live up to your username my dear King/Queen/Inbetween, thank you!
Wait, what are the 12 things to do before one calls the cops?
Here is copied pasted version
Calling the police often escalates situations, puts people at risk, and leads to violence. Anytime you seek help from the police, you’re inviting them into your community and putting people who may already be vulnerable into dangerous situations. Sometimes people feel that calling the police is the only way to deal with problems. But we can build trusted networks of mutual aid that allow us to better handle conflicts ourselves and move toward forms of transformative justice, while keeping police away from our neighborhoods.
Don’t feel obligated to defend property—especially corporate “private” property. Before confronting someone or contacting the police, ask yourself if anyone is being hurt or endangered by property “theft” or damage. If the answer is “no,” then let it be.
If something of yours is stolen and you need to file a report for insurance or other purposes, consider going to the police station instead of bringing cops into your community. You may inadvertently be putting someone in your neighborhood at risk.
If you observe someone exhibiting behavior that seems “odd” to you, don’t assume that they are publicly intoxicated. A traumatic brain injury or a similar medical episode may be occurring. Ask if they are OK, if they have a medical condition, and if they need assistance.
If you see someone pulled over with car trouble, stop and ask if they need help or if you can call a tow truck for them. If the police are introduced to such a situation, they may give punitive and unnecessary tickets to people with car issues, target those without papers, or worse.
Keep a contact list of community resources like suicide hotlines. When police are contacted to “manage” such situations, people with mental illness are sixteen times more likely to be killed by cops than those without mental health challenges.
Check your impulse to call the police on someone you believe looks or is acting “suspicious.” Is their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or housing situation influencing your choice? Such calls can be death sentences for many people.
Encourage teachers, coworkers, and organizers to avoid inviting police into classrooms, workplaces, and public spaces. Instead, create for a culture of taking care of each other and not unwittingly putting people in harm’s way. If you’re part of a group that’s holding a rally or demonstration, don’t get a permit or otherwise cooperate with the police.
If your neighbor is having a party and the noise is bothering you, go over and talk to them. Getting to know your neighbors with community events like monthly block parties is a good way to make asking them to quiet down a little less uncomfortable, or to find another neighbor who is willing to do so.
If you see someone peeing in public, just look away! Remember, for example, that many houseless people do not have reliable access to bathrooms.
Hold and attend deescalation, conflict resolution, first-aid, volunteer medic, and self-defense workshops in your neighborhood, school, workplace, or community organization.
Street art is beautiful! Don’t report graffiti and other street artists. If you see work that includes fascistic or hate speech, paint over it yourself or with friends.
Remember that police can escalate domestic violence situations. You can support friends and neighbors who are being victimized by abusers by offering them a place to stay, a ride to a safe location, or to watch their children. Utilize community resources like safe houses and hotlines.
Who are “vulnerable” people here? Criminals?
Nice dog whistle there.
Police have a long history of using excessive force and being excessively punitive against anyone who looks different. Literally the first police force in the country were slave catchers and they never left those roots.
Edit: holy shit did you actually forget to change alts before replying to yourself?! Good job! Bravo!
Yeah, people here assumes everyone knows about their political problems. I am not from west. Have a open mind
Y’know what, reviewing your post history, I believe you. You happened to step on a landmine though with your above comment about criminals, because the general problem of overpolicing and excessive force is reinforced by a laws that help perpetuate it.
For an extreme example, if you make it illegal to sleep under a bridge, any homeless person trying to get some rest in a public space that happens to provide a little bit of shelter is now a criminal. But do you think the police are going to hassle grampa who dozed off sitting at a park bench because it’s 3pm and he usually has had a nap by now? And when the newly deemed criminal gets upset about being arrested for just trying to get some shut eye that can be determined to be resisting arrest therefore the police can use more force. Maybe that triggers some PTSD and they start fighting back in which case the amount of force escelates.
The law and the criminal justice system are unfortunately designed to perpetuate a cycle of criminalism. Punitive prisons and sentencing make it difficult for anyone who has been arrested to adjust to living in society again. Parole and probation (the supposed support structure provided to people as they leave the prison system) is structured to penalize folks who already have it rough for struggling to make ends meet, and can quickly land people back in prison for offenses as simple as having work schedule them during their mandated parole meetings and needing to choose between potentially losing their job and becoming homeless or potentially being arrested again. Or they might find that they can make an actual living wage working in a black market (drugs, vehicle chop shop, etc.) because having a record excludes them from better paying employment options that offer a better work-life balance. Or maybe they couldn’t afford the restitution payments required (fines that were part of their sentence and fees for participating in the justice system) they go back to prison and ultimately come out much later even less able to adjust and the cylce continues until they die in prison, die homeless living in a gutter or die a death related to whatever trade they can pick up with their criminal record (industrial accident, drug overdose, gang violence, take your pick)
So yeah in short, some folks have a tight line to walk so that their existence isn’t criminalized
I see, over policing. Here police try to solve domestic(family) disputes without registering complains & overlook trivial offenses. And in local area, people usual approach respected locals & panchayat first. because it is common sense that justice system is unnecessarily expensive & takes a lot time to deliver justice.
Thank you!
I’m having trouble telling if the person who wrote that was trolling, or just really fucking stupid.
That sounds like a great way to get assaulted.
Such neighbor are more often than not too unagreeable to just have a chat with.
Meh, you are overreacting
Because I feel nice today, I went back to this instance to get the link for you, haven’t read it myself: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/may-day-collective-solidarity-defense-12-things-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-cops
Before I even read the thing, “here’s the link, I havent read it myself” is the single most gigachad thing I’ve ever read, you live up to your username my dear King/Queen/Inbetween, thank you!