For my Civic Issues blog I will be writing about phenomena that predominantly affect individuals in poverty. Over policing is the action of placing an increased police presence in areas where there is a majority of lower income individuals and people of color. De jure and de facto segregation created areas with high concentrations of Black people and other people of color (POC). These groups are statistically more likely to be in poverty. Impoverished areas are also seen as more criminogenic.

Over policing is based on the pretense that if there are more police officers, there will be less crime. Due to racial and economic bias, police officers target POC for non-crimes such as “looking suspicious” or minor offenses such as failing to comply with an officer’s orders. This does not prevent individuals from committing crime rather it creates a hostile environment within their own neighborhoods.

Supporters of over policing would tell you that there are positive results that show decreased crime rates. This evidence is somewhat misleading. Crime rates have been down since the 1990s and prison populations have skyrocketed since the 1980s. This is the result of the prison industrial complex which began in the 1980s. Private prisons opened during this time and gained wealth because of over policing. This led to the arrests of individuals for minor crimes and the courts gave them harsh prison sentences oftentimes due to their lack of wealth and knowledge about the law and racial bias. 

How do we reduce crime if we do not over police impoverished areas? Defund or abolish the police! This means to reallocate funds given to the police to other sectors of society, such as funding education. Police abolition focuses on dissolving police forces in favor of better safety groups with community oversight. 

Before you say this idea is too radical, look no further than Camden, New Jersey. In 2010, it was considered one of the most violent places in the US. It had high violent rates and a corrupt police force. A coalition of Republicans and Democrats decided to dissolve the police force and create a new county force. This new force had a different culture than the former police force that focused on communal well being. Other progressive policies were passed such as ending rewards for making many arrests and the scoop-and-go policy which requires officers to take gunshot victims to the hospital if an ambulance would take too long. Relative to 2010, Camden was a success. The city watched crime rates drastically decrease and a positive relationship formed between officers and residents. They continue to work on restructuring their community so that officers are held accountable and keep people safe.

Defunding or abolishing the police is not a radical idea. It is seen as radical under the system of white supremacy (not to be confused with the ideology of white supremacy) because it is subversive. The notion that POC are more prone to committing crime or need constantly monitoring by police to stay in line is white supremacy. 

Over policing is a product of the white supremacy, over funding cops of states and counties, the prison industrial complex and many other systems. If you care about changing the culture of police and the demonization of poverty, pay attention to who you vote for, county and state budgets, and candidates/politicians that want to change these systems. Join mutual aid organizations or campaigns that you think will alleviate these issues. Not all police reform is good police reform! This system is bigger than cops; it is about protecting and standing with marginalized groups.