The law brings second chances and public safety.
Johnson, a progressive, has been calling for change by implementing a public health approach to safety. Vallas, who has often identified himself as a Republican and represents the most conservative edge of the Democratic Party, has—in contrast to Johnson—been calling for the expansion of existing police-centric safety paradigms.
Denver’s STAR program sends paramedics and behavioral health clinicians instead of police to respond to 911 calls related to mental health issues, homelessness, and substance abuse. It’s led to a 34 percent drop in crime in its operating districts since 2020.
Black Lives Matter demands we upend it and dare to imagine and build new systems that invest deeply in resources: like youth programs, good jobs, mental healthcare, housing…resources that actually make our communities safe.
A plan of a committee convened by the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and Service Employees International Union aims to encourage police union members "to speak up and take action if fellow members are violating their professional oath or abusing their power."
We can choose to confront the historical roots and systemic racism of the drug war and mass incarceration and to see the alignment between people who want to end both.
As a discipline, urban planning is dedicated to understanding and addressing the complex problems of the city. Yet public safety is rarely taken up as a sphere of concern. Rather than rationalizing people’s failed life outcomes in a way that blames individuals for poor life choices, urban planners must help hold society accountable for past failures to construct real opportunity structures.
The latest findings from the FBI provide further evidence that states can reduce incarceration rates without compromising public safety.
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