An 1839 woodcut depicts a slave patrol capturing a fugitive. (Anti-Slavery Almanac/Public domain)
Policing is Not a Public Good
From the beginning, policing in this country has primarily protected the powerful. Maybe now that can change.
For decades, we've been told that policing is a public good: available to all, for the benefit of all. But in practice, that's never been true.
One of the basic measures of a "public good" is that it's accessible to all people in a society, regardless of ability to pay. But from the beginning, policing in this country was designed to protect the assets of the most privileged.
Boston merchants were the first to persuade lawmakers in 1838 that a full-time, publicly funded police force would serve the "collective good." In reality, they wanted to get the public to pay for protecting their shipped goods and routes.
In the South, where the economy depended on enslaved labor, publicly funded slave patrols were created in 1704 to surveil, track, and punish Black people who attempted to escape. As historian Sally Hadden notes, "Most law enforcement was, by definition, white patrolmen watching, catching, or beating Black slaves" -- who were legally considered the property of wealthy white men.
Today, all across the United States, landlords and property managers enlist law enforcement to forcibly evict low-income tenants. Police regularly remove homeless individuals from parks and public spaces. And cops routinely stop, search, and threaten Black and brown people when they drive or walk through white neighborhoods.
We've seen these disparities in policing increase since the outbreak of COVID-19. And soon, with eviction moratoriums lifting across the country, tens of thousands of struggling tenants will be sent eviction notices. When families have no place else to go and landlords call in law enforcement, who do you think the police will serve and protect?
For centuries, police have taken the side of power, at the expense of those most marginalized.
Police have never protected Black lives as much as they protect white property. And when people protest having their safety threatened -- as in the nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd -- they're met with further violence from police.
Safety is born out of investment in true public goods. Policing in America reveals a lack of it.
If people had guaranteed housing, there would be no one sleeping in subway cars, in parks, or on sidewalks for the police to round up. If people had universal health care, mental health problems might be treated instead of criminalized. And if we had a federal jobs guarantee, people would not be forced into an underground economy that fuels a cruel and punishing prison system.
But instead of addressing root causes of insecurity, leaders of both parties have often chosen to defund education and hospitals while resisting significant reductions to policing.
What if public safety were a public good? What would that look like?
It would mean funding nonviolent tools to de-escalate and respond to safety concerns. It would mean engaging community members in collective decision-making, since each community has unique needs. And, most importantly, it means using an anti-racist framework to create new approaches to public safety.
We're in a transformative moment in history where structural change is within our grasp. Reform has failed time and time again to address the problem of police violence. It's more clear than ever that we need to divest from policing and invest in universal public goods that create true public safety, not just the illusion of it.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
For decades, we've been told that policing is a public good: available to all, for the benefit of all. But in practice, that's never been true.
One of the basic measures of a "public good" is that it's accessible to all people in a society, regardless of ability to pay. But from the beginning, policing in this country was designed to protect the assets of the most privileged.
Boston merchants were the first to persuade lawmakers in 1838 that a full-time, publicly funded police force would serve the "collective good." In reality, they wanted to get the public to pay for protecting their shipped goods and routes.
In the South, where the economy depended on enslaved labor, publicly funded slave patrols were created in 1704 to surveil, track, and punish Black people who attempted to escape. As historian Sally Hadden notes, "Most law enforcement was, by definition, white patrolmen watching, catching, or beating Black slaves" -- who were legally considered the property of wealthy white men.
Today, all across the United States, landlords and property managers enlist law enforcement to forcibly evict low-income tenants. Police regularly remove homeless individuals from parks and public spaces. And cops routinely stop, search, and threaten Black and brown people when they drive or walk through white neighborhoods.
We've seen these disparities in policing increase since the outbreak of COVID-19. And soon, with eviction moratoriums lifting across the country, tens of thousands of struggling tenants will be sent eviction notices. When families have no place else to go and landlords call in law enforcement, who do you think the police will serve and protect?
For centuries, police have taken the side of power, at the expense of those most marginalized.
Police have never protected Black lives as much as they protect white property. And when people protest having their safety threatened -- as in the nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd -- they're met with further violence from police.
Safety is born out of investment in true public goods. Policing in America reveals a lack of it.
If people had guaranteed housing, there would be no one sleeping in subway cars, in parks, or on sidewalks for the police to round up. If people had universal health care, mental health problems might be treated instead of criminalized. And if we had a federal jobs guarantee, people would not be forced into an underground economy that fuels a cruel and punishing prison system.
But instead of addressing root causes of insecurity, leaders of both parties have often chosen to defund education and hospitals while resisting significant reductions to policing.
What if public safety were a public good? What would that look like?
It would mean funding nonviolent tools to de-escalate and respond to safety concerns. It would mean engaging community members in collective decision-making, since each community has unique needs. And, most importantly, it means using an anti-racist framework to create new approaches to public safety.
We're in a transformative moment in history where structural change is within our grasp. Reform has failed time and time again to address the problem of police violence. It's more clear than ever that we need to divest from policing and invest in universal public goods that create true public safety, not just the illusion of it.
For decades, we've been told that policing is a public good: available to all, for the benefit of all. But in practice, that's never been true.
One of the basic measures of a "public good" is that it's accessible to all people in a society, regardless of ability to pay. But from the beginning, policing in this country was designed to protect the assets of the most privileged.
Boston merchants were the first to persuade lawmakers in 1838 that a full-time, publicly funded police force would serve the "collective good." In reality, they wanted to get the public to pay for protecting their shipped goods and routes.
In the South, where the economy depended on enslaved labor, publicly funded slave patrols were created in 1704 to surveil, track, and punish Black people who attempted to escape. As historian Sally Hadden notes, "Most law enforcement was, by definition, white patrolmen watching, catching, or beating Black slaves" -- who were legally considered the property of wealthy white men.
Today, all across the United States, landlords and property managers enlist law enforcement to forcibly evict low-income tenants. Police regularly remove homeless individuals from parks and public spaces. And cops routinely stop, search, and threaten Black and brown people when they drive or walk through white neighborhoods.
We've seen these disparities in policing increase since the outbreak of COVID-19. And soon, with eviction moratoriums lifting across the country, tens of thousands of struggling tenants will be sent eviction notices. When families have no place else to go and landlords call in law enforcement, who do you think the police will serve and protect?
For centuries, police have taken the side of power, at the expense of those most marginalized.
Police have never protected Black lives as much as they protect white property. And when people protest having their safety threatened -- as in the nationwide protests after the murder of George Floyd -- they're met with further violence from police.
Safety is born out of investment in true public goods. Policing in America reveals a lack of it.
If people had guaranteed housing, there would be no one sleeping in subway cars, in parks, or on sidewalks for the police to round up. If people had universal health care, mental health problems might be treated instead of criminalized. And if we had a federal jobs guarantee, people would not be forced into an underground economy that fuels a cruel and punishing prison system.
But instead of addressing root causes of insecurity, leaders of both parties have often chosen to defund education and hospitals while resisting significant reductions to policing.
What if public safety were a public good? What would that look like?
It would mean funding nonviolent tools to de-escalate and respond to safety concerns. It would mean engaging community members in collective decision-making, since each community has unique needs. And, most importantly, it means using an anti-racist framework to create new approaches to public safety.
We're in a transformative moment in history where structural change is within our grasp. Reform has failed time and time again to address the problem of police violence. It's more clear than ever that we need to divest from policing and invest in universal public goods that create true public safety, not just the illusion of it.