What does police abolition look like?

Recent protests over police brutality have raised the volume on calls to defund the police. But while police abolition may be new to some, it’s a concept that has been studied and discussed for decades. In his 2017 book, The End of Policing, Alex S. Vitale explains the troubling origins of modern policing, why commonly suggested reforms like training and increased diversity have not been successful, and how slashing social services has placed police officers in situations they are unequipped to deal with. In this episode, Vitale also shares with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles how he explains the issue to sceptics, and ways that lawyers can help rethink the ways that the criminal justice system re-enforces inequality.

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