100 signatures reached
To: This petitioned is targeted towards the Salem (MA) City Council and current Mayor of Salem (MA), Kim Driscoll
Solidarity Northshore's Abolition Demands
In our call for freedom and justice, our goal for abolition is grounded in the foundations of a decentralized rehabilitative justice system for and by the people. We will be demanding the gradual steps towards the abolition of our centralized police departments, police unions, and the destructive principles of this institutionalized policing that have enforced unjust laws onto our communities, disproportionately targeting Black, Indigenous, and people of color for decades.
We call on all members of the City Council of Salem and the Mayor of Salem to utilize their current political power to sign on to these demands and enact the following:
The City of Salem reduces the police budget by 50% ($5.5 million) and allocates those funds to access to public housing, healthcare, and social services by FY 2022.
Salem Police Department provides public records of all alleged police misconduct, internal policies & training documents, and itemized spending budget on the Salem Police website.
Salem City Council provides public hearings on Salem Police Department Budget and allow testimony from the community at the beginning of each Fiscal Year Budgeting Process
The City of Salem eliminate the following mechanisms that protect police officers’ ability to enact violence:
- Salem Police Union
- Qualified Immunity
- Paid Administrative Leave to officers under investigation
The City of Salem eliminates Salem Police access to military weapons and gear.
The City of Salem replaces all Salem Public Schools’ school resource officers (SROs) with mental health counselors and social workers.
The Salem Police Department immediately fires Sergeant Kate Stephens, as well as any other police officer who demonstrates racist behavior.
The City of Salem repeals local ordinances and laws that criminalize survival and cultural expression, such as: occupation of public spaces, street vending, graffiti, and excessive noise.
The City of Salem provides affordable housing to all community members in need.
The City of Salem ends all government/police cooperation with ICE & protects the rights and privacy of all undocumented people in Salem.
Why is this important?
The people of Salem, MA deserve decentralized rehabilitative justice system built on community and protection.The police stands against this, born out of the desire to control and patrol slaves, built from the enslavement of Black and Indigenous people alongside the destruction and abuse of the indigenous community, all the while enforcing the power of the powerful few who strive to benefit themselves instead of the community they press themselves upon.
Systemic racism was built within the laws of this country sustaining itself as a prevalent issue within our community and unless we start listening to the voices and demands of the Black revolutionaries that have bled for these changes since the birth of these countries, the system will perpetuate into a cycle of destruction. The abolishment of our modern police institution is the only progress towards achieving proper justice and equality within our criminal justice system; police reform cannot provide the justice we seek. Reform has historically been very limited when it comes to changes and often further induces harm while maintaining the current power structures that this country holds. Police brutality against Black individuals stems from the branches of institutionalized racism that have led to prolonged socioeconomic issues affecting the Black community.
We, Solidarity Northshore and community members that sign on to this petition believe that the Racial Equity Task Force’s purpose of “identifying short- and long-term reforms” and “developing an action plan to achieve greater racial equity in our community” is misguided and fundamentally flawed. Our current system of policing, which kills, controls, and contains Black, Brown, and poor people, is working exactly as it was designed. It cannot be reformed to be better. We reject the notion that there are no immediate, actionable goals that the City Council can initiate using their already present power to change policy and divert funding from the police using our demands.