Building a Safe Community

AFR values safe communities, where all members feel they can access services and protections without harm, fear, intimidation or retaliation; where the police are subject to civilian oversight; and where allocation of Town resources and responsibilities reflect demonstrated community needs.

Accordingly, we support the creation of a civilian oversight body for Arlington’s Police Department and a study of the feasibility of defunding--that is, of reallocating part(s) of the APD budget, in order to separate social welfare responsibilities from law enforcement (see the October, 2020 Arlington Finance Committee report).

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Resources

• ​The Emancipator, The Center for Antiracist Research & the Boston Globe Opinion Team.

• Reimagine Safety, Washington Post, March 16, 2021

• Reimagining Community Safety: A Discussion with Ronald Davis. Harvard Kennedy School, Malcolm Wiener Ctr.

• Defunding the Police Will Actually Make us Safer, ACLU

• 6 Reasons Why It's Time to Defund the Police, (video) American Friends Service Committee, A Quaker Organization

• What does ‘defund the police’ mean and does it have merit?, Brookings

• Stacey Abrams addresses the "defund the police" slogan (video) PBS

• Police Departments must take a hard lin on insurrectionist and white supremacist cops, The Boston Globe, January 17, 2021

• Visit DefundPolice.org, a new, comprehensive web resource where organizers can find everything they need for their campaign to defund police in one place.

“Police departments and police unions across the nation should make clear that the role of police is to protect and serve their communities, and draw a hard line by imposing zero-tolerance policies … departments can’t continue to make excuses when officers express hateful views or skirt their responsibility to improve policing culture. Mocking minority groups on Facebook or in a union newsletter isn’t harmless venting or a matter of free speech; it’s a clear indicator that an officer is unfit for the job.” 

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• HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP  ~ by Laura Kiesel, DigBoston, January 19, 2021

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• “[Police officers] have the responsibility to maintain the trust of the community. If they exercise their right to free speech but say things that would destroy the trust with the community, they can be terminated.”  ~ Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis talks to WBZ 4 CBS Boston about officers who may have participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.