Change, Part 3
Dear Neighbors,
I know I'm emailing a lot this week. But in these turbulent and scary times, I feel I have an obligation to share with you the changes I'm advocating for to address the crises we're facing.
Yesterday I talked about some of the legislation I'm working on around reforming our policing and criminal justice systems. Today I'd like to talk about a different vision for the future that I believe we should all work toward.
WHAT I'M FIGHTING FOR IN THE LONG RUN
Police are being called on to do far too much. We need to divert some of the vast resources spent on policing and create a new kind of first responder.
Today, people call 9-1-1 when they see a homeless person. They call 9-1-1 when they see someone in a mental health crisis. They call 9-1-1 for domestic disturbances, blown stop signs, loud parties.
None of these situations require responders with guns and vests. And when people arrive who are trained primarily for combat, it's no surprise how many of these situations escalate to violence.
We need a different number to call, to summon a whole different cohort, trained in a whole different set of skills. Instead of detaining, arresting, and incarcerating, these folks could de-escalate and connect to services. Safe shelter for the homeless person or the domestic violence victim. Mental health care for the person in an episode. Drug treatment for the person facing addiction.
People with guns and vests would only show up to truly dangerous situations. And the police force could be reconstituted around a different mission: to investigate and solve serious crimes. Their struggle in that area right now has to do in large part, I think, with how burdened they are by responding to all these other situations, for which they're profoundly ill-suited.
I know this is an ambitious — you might even say radical — idea. But if there's anything we should learn from this moment, it's that we will need ambitious, radical ideas to fix what's broken in our society.
I welcome your thoughts, reactions, and discussion about any of this. Please don't hesitate to send them along. Otherwise, please stay safe, and let's all continue working toward a more just and decent world.
Sincerely,
- Will
PS. I didn't make this idea up. Many organizers around the country have been pushing for some version of this for years, and the Minneapolis City Council is now considering a restructuring along these very lines.