On July 1, 2020 New Haven Friends held a virtual Racial Justice Seeker Session, which was attended by 27 people.  Peace & Social Outreach Committee ioffered this opportunity for for considering the recent calls by local activists to ‘defund the police’.  Carl Testa served as facilitator and began with 15 minutes of silent worship to consider a list of “queries”/questions (list attached).  Attendees were then asked to explore, with the queries in mind, can you imagine a "police-free" future?  As proposals move forward at the local and state level, does the Meeting have a position to share?  

Statements from Friends' organizations and gatherings:

• American Friends Service Committee statement at https://www.afsc.org/defundpolice
• Vocal Ministry from Portland, ME Friend
• The Outgoing Epistle of the 2020 Virtual Pre-Gathering of Friends of Color and their Families

New Haven

• Yale Law School professor and nationally-celebrated police reform expert Tracey Meares is now officially a member of the city’s Board of Police Commissioners.  Her 2017 article Policing: A Public Good Gone Bad is HERE along with link to audio interview.
• Community Policing and the Public’s Attitudes Toward Police -Study shows Community-oriented Policing does work in New Haven, CT. Dec 2019  
• Teach-In on Divesting, Defunding, and Abolition from Elm City Montessori with Ala Ochumare from Black Lives Matter New Haven  
• Shift Change-Policing at a Crossroads, 2019 video  
• Project Longevity is a Community and Law Enforcement initiative to reduce serious violence in three of Connecticut’s major cities: New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford.

Experiences in other locations:

• MPD150 is an independent organization that conducted an 150-year performance review of the Minneapolis Police Department in 2017. Their recommendation at the conclusion of the review was that the PD should be disbanded. https://www.mpd150.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MPD150-FAQ-Text.pdf
• Complicated story of the Camden Police Dept (NJ) rebuild https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/12/camden-policing-reforms-313750

Other:

• From Critical Resistance on Reformist Reforms versus Abolitionist Reforms: 
• ACT NOW!  Anti-Racist Actions We (All) White People Need to Take: