You know, even with everything ¹ in the news, and in the news, and in the news, police are still who a lot of people think about when they think about safety. This belief also supports the kinds of reformist reforms that add more money to police budgets and directly counter what communities and society are demanding.

For example, the Montreal police are piloting a program described by the police chief as a ‘humane approach to people with autism.’ But the program requires registration in a police-accessible database to be treated as a human. As the Abolition and Disability Justice Collective tells us, reforms that require registries, monitoring, or surveillance are reforms to avoid!

People who are the least likely to have involuntarily encounters with the police are also more likely to trust police. Because policing works by making some people actually unsafe while making a second group feel safe by telling them that what they should be most afraid of is the first group. Policing also works to deskill us all, leading us to believe that there isn’t the knowledge, and skill, and care in community and society to keep each other safe.

Next month we’re bringing together a group of practising urban planners and community workers from coast to coast to share skills and knowledge to help move planning away from policing and towards actual safety through fully resourced communities built through ecosystems of care.

We’ll have lots to report out from this community exchange in the next months, but if you’re in Ottawa in February join us for a free screening of some beautiful short documentaries that counter those policing stories with examples of how love, care and imagination can keep us safe.

Pathways to Community Safety
Free Film Night
Friday, February 13, 7p
Alma Duncan Salon, Ottawa Art Gallery
tinyurl.com/febfilms

à bientôt
planningforabolition@carleton.ca

Learning + Action

As another reminder that we have those skills, knowledge, and care, this month some notes and events on organizing at different scales, in different places, and different times.

• ‘An indictment of the trade union movement’: Why no one is organising seasonal workers [Open Democracy]

• ‘Knowing your rights’: Prince George, B.C., renters forming tenants union [CBC]

• Water justice network criticises repressive acts against Senegal water union members [Vanguard]

• Thursday, January 29 - Abolition Pub-Ed [Disability Justice Network of Ontario/Zoom Registration]

• Tuesday, February 3 -"No Neutrals There" Discussion with Jeff Schuhrke and Hassan Husseini, [People’s Voice/humanitix]