{"id":2900,"date":"2017-11-28T04:44:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T04:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/?p=2900"},"modified":"2019-02-18T15:07:14","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T15:07:14","slug":"13-things-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/13-things-to-do-instead-of-calling-the-police\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Things to do Instead of Calling the Police"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a013 Things to do Instead of Calling the Police<\/b><\/p>\n

Calling the police often escalates situations, puts people at risk, and leads to violence. Anytime you seek help from the police, you\u2019re inviting them into your community and putting people who may already be vulnerable to dangerous situations. Sometimes people feel that calling the police is the only way to deal with problems. But we can build trusted networks of mutual aid that allow us to better handle conflicts ourselves and move toward forms of transformative justice while keeping police away from our neighborhoods.<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/b> Don\u2019t feel obligated to defend property\u2014especially corporate \u201cprivate\u201d property. Before confronting someone or contacting the police, ask yourself if anyone is being hurt or endangered by property \u201ctheft\u201d or damage. If the answer is \u201cno,\u201d then let it be.<\/span><\/p>\n

2<\/b> If something of yours is stolen and you need to file a report for insurance or other purposes, consider going to the police station instead of bringing cops into your community. You may inadvertently be putting someone in your neighborhood at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

3<\/b> If you observe someone exhibiting behavior that seems \u201codd\u201d to you, don\u2019t assume that they are publicly intoxicated. A traumatic brain injury or a similar medical episode may be occurring. Ask if they are OK if they have a medical condition, and if they need assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

4<\/b> If you see someone pulled over with car trouble, stop and ask if they need help or if you can call a tow truck for them. If the police are introduced to such a situation, they may give punitive and unnecessary tickets to people with car issues, target those without papers, or worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

5<\/b> Keep a contact list of community resources like suicide hotlines. When police are contacted to \u201cmanage\u201d such situations, people with mental illness are sixteen times more likely to be killed by cops than those without mental health challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

6<\/b> Check your impulse to call the police on someone you believe looks or is acting \u201csuspicious.\u201d Is their race, gender, ethnicity, class, or housing situation influencing your choice? Such calls can be death sentences for many people.<\/span><\/p>\n

7<\/b> Encourage teachers, co-workers, and organizers to avoid inviting police into classrooms, workplaces, and public spaces. Instead, create a culture of taking care of each other and not unwittingly putting people in harm\u2019s way. If you\u2019re part of a group that\u2019s holding a rally or demonstration, don\u2019t get a permit or otherwise cooperate with the police.<\/span><\/p>\n

8<\/b> If your neighbor is having a party and the noise is bothering you, go over and talk to them. Getting to know your neighbors with community events like monthly block parties is a good way to make asking them to quiet down a little less uncomfortable, or to find another neighbor who is willing to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

9<\/b> If you see someone peeing in public, just look away! Remember, for example, that many homeless people do not have reliable access to bathrooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

10<\/b> Hold and attend de-escalation, conflict resolution, first-aid, a volunteer medic, and self-defense workshops in your neighborhood, school, workplace, or community organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

11<\/b> Street art is beautiful! Don\u2019t report graffiti and other street artists. If you see work that includes fascistic or hate speech, paint over it yourself or with friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

12<\/b> Remember that police can escalate domestic violence situations. You can support friends and neighbors who are being victimized by abusers by offering them a place to stay, a ride to a safe location, or to watch their children. Utilize community resources like safe houses and hotlines.<\/span><\/p>\n

13<\/b> \u00a0Don’t call the police just because you think you spotted a sex worker. \u00a0This often leads to violence and or arrest for sex workers. If you are concerned ask the person if they are \u00a0OK and if they are in need of assistance. \u00a0Don’t assume that all sex workers are trafficking victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handcuffs are Never Rescue<\/p>\n

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For more information go to \u00a0<\/span>http:\/\/coyoteri.org\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a013 Things to do Instead of Calling the Police Calling the police often escalates situations, puts people at risk, and leads to violence. Anytime you seek help from the police, you\u2019re inviting them into your community and putting people who may already be vulnerable to dangerous situations. Sometimes people feel that calling the police is the only way to deal… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coyoteri"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2900"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6807,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900\/revisions\/6807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coyoteri.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}