Early Survey Results Reveal: Overwhelming Support to Redirect Police Funding to Community Programs
For too long, climate change has either been ignored or framed as a matter for technocratic and technological fixes. But that notion is starting to crumble. For many Philadelphians, it is becoming clear that climate change is inextricably connected to fights for social, racial, and economic justice. To ensure a livable future for our city, we must link these movements in our organizing. Here at Reclaim, our members have already begun this work. Climate justice is increasingly integrated into a wide range of organizing activities, from fighting to stop evictions to organizing against austerity for our public schools to demanding a reduction in the bloated police budget.
This event will honor lost loved ones, using art, music, and storytelling to cultivate healing in community with each other. You’ll hear from community members directly impacted by gun violence and some community leaders who are providing healing, violence interruption, and other resources for our people.
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Katia Pérez, mass liberation organizer with the progressive group Reclaim Philadelphia, said the deal didn’t do enough to bring change to a scandal-plagued agency. Her group and other activist organizations have called for stricter disciplinary measures, reducing the size of the force, and reallocating police spending toward other services.
“I see the small wins, but there’s a lot more work to do,” she said.
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On September 14th, the City of Philadelphia and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) announced that an agreement on a three year contract had been reached. In many ways, this negotiation was a historic first. For the first time in Philadelphia and nationally, public testimony was part of the contract process. This was a critical step towards increased transparency and greater community involvement. It is important that those who are most affected by police violence and misconduct be part of the negotiations.
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“There’s definitely been pushback from the Democratic establishment,” Perez said. “There is a lot of [pressure] to continue to do politics the same way they’ve been done in Philly … but the problem with that is that the system prioritizes ‘How many favors have been done?’ and ‘When do I get my payback for the favors that I’ve done?’”
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We know whether or not we have a progressive DA like Larry Krasner doesn’t matter much when judges block many of the reforms our movement is calling for. That’s why since 2017, we started working to not only identify leftist judges but also educate voters about the stakes in these much ignored local elections.
The Sixty-Six Wars blog recently did a deep dive into the Common Pleas elections from the last primary. What the data shows is YES it’s worth it, we are changing how voters look at these races, and we are building a movement that understands justice must be built around community care not the status quo of incarceration.
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“After Philadelphia activists successfully prevented a $19 million increase in police funding during the city’s 2020 budget cycle, they geared up for an even more ambitious fight in 2021. Activists from community organization Reclaim Philly launched the Reclaim the Budget! initiative around three main objectives: eliminating increases to the police budget, raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest to provide city revenue, and adopting a visionary 10-year budgetary plan for Philadelphia.”
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"Since 2013, only 2% of community member formal complaints against Philly police have resulted in a guilty finding, and 70% of those guilty verdicts were reduced or overturned after binding arbitration." It's about time arbitrators heard from community members. "We cannot allow the FOP to dictate our future. Let this be the moment where our city negotiates for us. We deserve it, and our lives depend on it."
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“We’re figuring out how much of an impact we can have, the movement can have,” she said. “What we’re always keeping in mind is the long-term effects that the judicial system—the carceral system—is having on Philadelphians,” said Mass Liberation TaskForce Lead Organizer Katia Perez
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