The call to defund the police became a defining moment in the political history of Turtle Island during 2020. In Canada, people took to the streets after the murder of George Floyd in the U.S., and the deaths of Regis Korchinski-Pacquet and Ejas Choudry in Ontario, both of whom were experiencing a mental health episode while in the presence of law enforcement officers.
At the height of the pandemic, as communities continued to suffer from inadequate government response to the public health and economic crisis, the support for the abolitionist movement grew louder and stronger. Why are police budgets so high? Why are racialized individuals overrepresented in prisons? And most importantly, if we defund the police, how will we keep our communities safe?
In this episode, Krisna Saravanamuttu, a journalist and community organizer based in Toronto and a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, answers these questions and explores alternative ways to rebuild resilient and caring communities.
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