CM KRJ and CM Charles Barron advocating that money be moved from funding jails to funding schools, social services, and mental health

For many years, traditional measures, structures, and institutions have guided how we operate and have determined what we see as “healthy” or “successful”, but the dynamics of a truly healthy society interwoven, layered, and intricately based in everyone’s humanity would not look like our world today. Drastic change in our system, specifically the criminal justice system, is badly needed. In the spirit of this transformation, it is important to see the possibility for abolition in building and embracing a social safety net.

By abolition I mean not merely a strategy of abolishment that ends mass incarceration but a re-envisioning and restructuring of social safety nets, focusing particularly on the re-imagination of mental health services and the end to a systemically racist and violent police state. Contrary to what many think, abolition isn’t solely about removal but is also about rebuilding. It involves deconstructing systems that exacerbate inequity, and replacing them with frameworks that bolster equity, community care, and wellness.

With over 18.9% of adults in the US grappling with a mental health condition, the necessity of an accessible, inclusive, and comprehensive mental health service system is inarguable. At the crux of abolition is the aspiration to divest from structures that perpetuate harm, like a violent police state, and invest in solutions that cultivate collective health, like expansive mental health services. Central to this ambition is the urgent need to acknowledge that the long history of systemic racism underpinning law enforcement mechanisms should not be considered an immutable given. It is a fallacy to believe that oppressive systems of policing are necessary to “preserve order”, just as it is a mistake to conclude that brutality is an antidote to violence – it isn’t, has never been, and will never be.

The history of police violence and racial profiling highlights a pattern of injustice, systemic racism, and overt violence which harm rather than preserve communities. Transitioning from an oppressive police state to an era of peace isn’t simply about altering policing methodologies but also revolutionizing the societal structures that directly feed into these law enforcement bodies. Essentially, it necessitates cultivating a social safety net, with comprehensive mental health services that prioritize empathy and healing over force.

This possibility for abolition and potential transition isn’t just theoretical. In cities like Denver, they’re already pioneering alternative emergency response models where mental health professionals, instead of police officers, respond to calls involving issues of mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness. In NYC we have attempted but failed in such measures with interventions like BE HEARD (although this is a step the fact that police still respond the vast majority of the time means this program is currently falling far short of its promise and needs a revamp). In any case, when effective mental health intervention and prevention efforts have been effectively tried, the outcome has been reduced police involvement and reduced jail admissions. Importantly, acknowledging the possibility of abolition does not suggest that violent acts and societal misdemeanors will miraculously disappear. It is a shift in our society’s response, from punitive and oppressive to empathetic and rehabilitative which can mark a fundamental paradigm shift.

Ultimately, abolishing an inherently oppressive system requires the willingness to reimagine peace as a journey rather than a destination. To step away from perpetuating harm and move toward investing in health, compassion, and collective well-being is no doubt a tremendous feat. Yet, as Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Abolition is more than a battle cry against violence and systemic racism. It is a commitment to the inherent worth of every individual, to our collective well-being, and to the dream of a peaceful society. Abolition, at its core, declares that responding to violence with more violence, to harm with harm, to fear with fear, does not inch us any closer to peace.

To Help Further the Cause of Abolition…

• Educate yourself and others: Understand the causes, effects, and solutions related to mass incarceration. Share these with your network. 
• Organize awareness campaigns: Utilize social media platforms, organize local events or webinars to spread the word.
• Support local organizations: Contribute to organizations and initiatives that work towards community care, prevention, and comprehensive mental health services
• Advocate for change in legislation: Reach out to your local lawmakers and demand a change in the existing criminal justice policies and allocation of resources (#CareNotCops). Sign petitions and support legislation that aims to reduce or end mass incarceration.

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Kristin Richardson Jordan

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