There are actually multiple guides on how to deal with crime instead of calling the police. According to all of these lists, calling the police puts lives in danger and even bringing police into the neighborhood risks the lives of the people that live there and brings oppression and negativity to the community as well as justifying police existence. If you are a victim, don’t call police. Call trusted people in your pod to help you recover because the police will only cause violence and oppress the suspect or others.
The suggestions are to form pods-or groups of like minded people that you can rely on in times of crisis.
Your pod is made up of the people that you would call on if violence, harm or abuse happened to you; or the people that you would call on if you wanted support in taking accountability for violence, harm or abuse that you’ve done; or if you witnessed violence or if someone you care about was being violent or being abused.
Always ask if you have consent to try and help. If you are a victim of theft or a burglary, consider hiding and remember-it’s just property and if you need a police report, go down to the station to get one-never bring the police to the scene because that is bringing police violence to your home. What if you call police while your house is being broken into and after they clear the call, they see a minority they believe to be the suspect and cause harm to them.
here are some quotes from articles.
Calling the police often escalates situations, puts people at risk, and leads to violence. Anytime you seek help from the police, you’re inviting them into your community and putting people who may already be vulnerable into dangerous situations. Sometimes people feel that calling the police is the only way to deal with problems. But we can build trusted networks of mutual aid that allow us to better handle conflicts ourselves and move toward forms of transformative justice, while keeping police away from our neighborhoods.
1 Don’t feel obligated to defend property—especially corporate “private” property. Before confronting someone or contacting the police, ask yourself if anyone is being hurt or endangered by property “theft” or damage. If the answer is “no,” then let it be.
2 If something of yours is stolen and you need to file a report for insurance or other purposes, consider going to the police station instead of bringing cops into your community. You may inadvertently be putting someone in your neighborhood at risk.
3 If you observe someone exhibiting behavior that seems “odd” to you, don’t assume that they are publicly intoxicated. A traumatic brain injury or a similar medical episode may be occurring. Ask if they are OK, if they have a medical condition, and if they need assistance.
4 If you see someone pulled over with car trouble, stop and ask if they need help or if you can call a tow truck for them. If the police are introduced to such a situation, they may give punitive and unnecessary tickets to people with car issues, target those without papers, or worse.
5 Keep a contact list of community resources like suicide hotlines. When police are contacted to “manage” such situations, people with mental illness are sixteen times more likely to be killed by cops than those without mental health challenges.
6 Check your impulse to call the police on someone you believe looks or is acting “suspicious.” Is their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or housing situation influencing your choice? Such calls can be death sentences for many people.
7 Encourage teachers, coworkers, and organizers to avoid inviting police into classrooms, workplaces, and public spaces. Instead, create for a culture of taking care of each other and not unwittingly putting people in harm’s way. If you’re part of a group that’s holding a rally or demonstration, don’t get a permit or otherwise cooperate with the police.
8 If your neighbor is having a party and the noise is bothering you, go over and talk to them. Getting to know your neighbors with community events like monthly block parties is a good way to make asking them to quiet down a little less uncomfortable, or to find another neighbor who is willing to do so.
9 If you see someone peeing in public, just look away! Remember, for example, that many houseless people do not have reliable access to bathrooms.
10 Hold and attend deescalation, conflict resolution, first-aid, volunteer medic, and self-defense workshops in your neighborhood, school, workplace, or community organization.
11 Street art is beautiful! Don’t report graffiti and other street artists. If you see work that includes fascistic or hate speech, paint over it yourself or with friends.
12 Remember that police can escalate domestic violence situations. You can support friends and neighbors who are being victimized by abusers by offering them a place to stay, a ride to a safe location, or to watch their children. Utilize community resources like safe houses and hotlines.
Know your neighbors so you can talk to them about issues instead of calling the police-for example, your neighbors are having a loud party and it is affecting your quality of life-ask them if they can be quiet instead of involving the police and invite them to a monthly block party.
Know your mental health agencies so you can get the person help if they consent to receiving some.
Take a community approach to stopping violence and protecting people
While many calls to police are for noise complaints or other minor issues, some are for more serious, potentially dangerous situations. The New York City Police Department, for example, receives almost 600 calls about potential
domestic violence incidents every day. At the same time, there’s been growing public attention in recent years to assault and violence committed by officers themselves.
Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, for example, was
sentenced in 2016 for sexually assaulting eight women of color (he was also accused, but not convicted, in five other assaults). And an
Associated Press analysis found that between 2009 and 2014,
990 police officers lost their badges for sexual misconduct — and those were just the ones who were disciplined.
A theoretical starting place from
Taj James on Facebook:
“White people. I love you! You are stretching in this moment to try to figure out what you can do and how to do more. I have an idea:
In addition to talking with other white folks about how heartbroken you are about the latest round of murders of Black people by the police. In addition to getting your family to share how they feel and declare their solidarity and linked fate by putting up a #BlackLivesMatter sign in their window at home or at work. In addition to supporting Black-led direct action and policy campaigns. In addition to making large donations to organizations who are a part of the Movement for Black Lives and to the families of those who have lost loved ones. In addition to doing the basic, hard and essential work of reconnecting white people to their lost humanity and our shared humanity, what if the next step might be to say:
“White friends and family, I think we are better off without the police. I think we might be safer, happier, healthier if there were no police. In addition to fewer Black people being killed by those police our life would be much better. I am starting to think we are better off without them. That we don’t need them. That if we shut them all down today and transferred all the resources they control to communities to set up systems of community safety and accountability we would all be much happier.”
https://uaptsd.org/take-action/what-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-police/
https://www.sproutdistro.com/2017/07/28/new-zine-12-things-cops
A zoom meeting with a bunch of woke kids that tell you how to handle situations without calling police. At the end, they add the ACAB and reiterate to never call police.
