âAbolish the Police.â Such a statement instantly stirs fear in many of a dystopian world of anarchy and violence and lawlessness. Many wonder who will pick up the phone when they dial 911 in the case of an emergency.
However, I argue that it doesnât need to. Donât get me wrong, I understand the deep aversion to the idea of police abolition, and I have shared these same sentiments regarding it. But I decided to learn more about what police abolition really means, and uncover the substance beneath the slogan.
There are a variety of perspectives regarding what police abolition actually is, but here I would like to talk about my vision of what it would look like.