Confronting Our Fears About the Abolition of Policing

Part of Mosaic Lifespan Curriculum

Open

  • Reading: “Abolition is not absence, it is presence. What the world will become already exists in fragments and pieces, experiments and possibilities. So those who feel in their gut-deep anxiety that abolition means knock it all down, scorch the earth and start something new, let that go. Abolition is building the future from the present, in all of the ways we can.”- Ruth Wilson Gilmore
  • Song: Balm in Gilead (YouTube)

Read

Watch

Do

Divide participants into pairs or small groups. Provide each group with a real social problem. For example: graffiti, mental health crisis, domestic abuse, theft, assault, and traffic/speeding/car violations)

Have each group provide an answer for each question below:

  1. How do police handle these situations now?

  2. What other ways people could potentially handle these situations?

  3. How do we prevent these situations in the first place? 

Gather together to share and then answer these questions: 

  1. When we examine how police respond to problems, what common themes do you notice?

  2. Were you surprised by any of the ideas that people came up with for dealing with problems?

  3. Were there any exciting or interesting breakthroughs?

  4. A police-free world doesn’t necessarily mean a perfect world. What new problems might arise? How might we tackle those?

Close

  • This Joy (YouTube) by the Resistance Revival Chorus

  • Closing Checkout Question: “Name one thing in your community that makes you feel safe.”

Take Home

Journal/ Reflection Questions

  1. What would safety look like in a society without police?

  2. What kind of community resources and support systems would be necessary in the absence of police?

  3. How might communities prevent and address violence and crime in a police-free world?

  4. What alternative approaches to justice could emerge in this society?

  5. How could mental health crises and emergencies be handled without police involvement?

  6. How could a society without policing protect marginalized and vulnerable populations?

  7. What changes would need to occur in the education system to promote conflict resolution and empathy?

  8. What role might restorative justice play in this new society?

  9. Would there be a shift in the way society views and addresses substance abuse and addiction?

  10. What new forms of community engagement and communication could emerge without the police?

  11. How might the absence of police influence the design and organization of physical spaces?

  12. What role might local leaders, mediators, or counselors play in maintaining harmony?

  13. How would a world without policing impact the cultural and social norms around conflict and resolution?

Additional Resources

Children’s Books

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