Defund MPD Campaign

GBM Presentation

June 14, 2020

Why Defund MPD?

Police Reform Has Failed

• Major police reforms proposed after the murders of Mike Brown and Eric Garner have failed to stop police violence:
• Body cameras
• Implicit Bias Training
• Changes to use of force policies
• Community relations initiatives
• Civilian review boards
• Minneapolis in particular had a long history of reform:
• Mindfulness training
• Crisis intervention team training
• Early warning systems to identify bad officers

Reform Gives Police More Money

Many proposed reforms increase police budgets, taking even more money out of our communities for little benefit.

• Maintaining body cameras and storing their video can be so expensive that some police departments stopped using them.
• DC Council spent $5 million on Body Cameras
• They spend $2 million a year on video storage alone

The Police Are Bad at their Jobs

The police aren’t even succeeding at crime control by their own metrics:

• The MPD clear only ~ 2 in 3 murders.
• The vast majority of sexual assaults do not result in a conviction.
• Bigger police budgets haven’t reduced crime.

The police’s role has expanded inappropriately:

• Mental health crises
• Substance abuse issues
• Domestic violence

Where Does Defund the MPD Come From?

• The call to Defund the Police has come nationally from Black-led organizations, including Black Lives Matter.
• In DC, the primary organizations organizing to Defund the MPD include:
• Black Lives Matter DC
• BYP 100 DC
• Stop Police Terror Project
• No Justice No Pride
• ONE DC
• SURJ DC

What Does Defunding Mean?

• Sharply reduce MPD funding this year, and redirect that money to non-police harm reduction strategies.
• Continue to cut police funding year by year as non-police alternatives are created until it reaches zero.
• Take an abolitionist approach in other areas. Here in DC, that means:
• Cops out of schools
• No new jails
• Decriminalize things that shouldn’t be illegal, like sex work

What Do Alternatives Look Like?

• Violence interrupter / de-escalator programs
• Mental health care provider emergency responders
• Domestic violence specialist emergency responder
• Wrap-around services to support children and adults who need help
• Housing for all
• Neighborhood community centers, trauma centers, non-coercive public D&A treatment centers, etc.
• Restorative justice
• Economic justice & universal health care

The Facts on MPD

The MPD receives a lot of public funding, at the same time as Mayor Bowser proposes cuts to other important projects.

• Mayor Bowser proposed almost $580 million in operating funds for FY2021
• Plus $18.7 million in capital budget, an over 50% increase from FY2020
• Single largest contract is with DC Public Schools

The MPD’s budget is smaller as a percentage of DC spending than other cities, but that’s in part because DC serves as a state for many federal programs, so programs like Medicaid are in its budget as well.

Moving Forward

BLM DC and BYP 100 are demanding:

• Reject proposed MPD funding increase and reduce MPD budget each year until it is zeroed out.
• Reinvest funds to our communities, including community-led violence interruption programs.
• Create police-free DC schools

Campaign Overview

• Organizing to develop a broad campaign to uplift, advance and educate others on defunding police.
• Collaborate with allied racial justice organizations to demand defunding, divesting and demilitarizing the police as well as investing in community based support programs in collaboration with internal DSA efforts.

Campaign Tactics

Current/future actions

• Letter-writing campaign
• Writing long-form, detailed comments explaining abolition
• Testifying at the budget/oversight hearings (including tomorrow Budget Oversight Hearing)
• Coalition building around a budget that funds care not cops
• Outreach to public sector unions (not cop unions)
• Outreach to racial justice, social justice, faith, and community groups

June 12th Action Debrief

• Co-Sponsored by Metro DC DSA, Empower DC, the Claudia Jones School for Political Education, Anakbayan, 350 DC, the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees, Rise and MOVE DC, and Sanctuary DMV
• 13 speakers, including Maryland Delegate Gabriel Acevero and Democratic nominee for Ward 4 Janeese Lewis George
• Couple hundred attendees

Upcoming Action & Key Dates

June 15: Budget Oversight Hearing: Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety, MPD & public (12 pm)

June 16: Budget Oversight Hearing: Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice & Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (3pm)

Sub-Groups

• Research (focused on understanding MPD’s funding and its impact on community priorities)�
• Communications & Design�
• Organizational outreach (labor, community orgs, etc.)�
• Onboarding�

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Ongoing Action Items

• Signing and sharing the letter writing campaign: mdcdsa.org/defund-mpd/ #DefundMPD #DefundthePolice
• Tomorrow’s MPD meeting�
• Do outreach to other organizations and individuals

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How to Get Involved

• Fill out this form: tinyurl.com/DefundtheMPD

Questions & Suggestions