Policing & Security • Community Health & Safety • Organizing & Democracy
A recent proposal for US Congress to “declare war” on Mexican cartels in order to curb the growing number of fatal opiate overdoses of Americans is incendiary and dangerous. Not only would it be ineffective in countering cartels or reducing fatal overdoses in the U.S.; it would lead to lead to the murders of thousands more Mexican civilians, not to mention endanger the lives of American soldiers.
U.S. Congress declaring war on Mexican drug cartels will only increase violence & harm to Mexican civilians & will not reduce overdoses in the U.S. Real, evidence-based solutions exist, this is not it. A response to Matt Mayer's dangerous proposal.
The drug war is not saving us; it is killing us. America - we must wake up. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/05/upshot/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdose-deaths-are-rising-faster-than-ever.html
36 years ago yesterday, Bobby Sands died after 66 days on hunger strike in the Maze prison hospital. Bobby, an IRA activist, poet, and member of parliament, inspired generations of activists fighting for justice and freedom. Below is one of the first writings I had published back in 2007, and still one of my most …
Continue reading "Bobby Sands (Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice)"
Ramarley Graham was shot & killed on February 2, 2012 in the Bronx by NYPD officer Richard Haste. Ramarely was unarmed & was not committing a crime at the time of his death. He was shot and killed in front of his grandmother in the bathroom of his home after Officer Haste chased him into …
Continue reading "#JusticeforRamarley demonstrations in NYC [Photos]"
These are photos from São Paulo, Brazil in June 2016 related to their innovative program Braços Abertos ("Open Arms"). This was a harm reduction effort aimed to provide housing, job training, jobs, income, and health services to street-based crack users known as Cracolândia or "Cracklands." You can read more about the program here, as well …
Continue reading "Harm reduction in São Paulo Brazil – Open Arms / Braços Abertos [Photos]"
As New Jersey Governor Chris Christie takes the lead in crafting the Trump administration’s response to the opioid crisis, he and his colleagues need to understand that we can’t fix the problem until we kick our long-term addiction to the war on drugs and accept overdoses for what they are: a health issue.
Here are four key problems with the Trump administration’s approach to law enforcement that were announced immediately after his inauguration.
Shasha, a transgender sex worker in China, was stopped on the street one night by the police. Though she hadn’t conducted any business that night, she was hauled to a local precinct for questioning. Once there, the police searched her bag and found lubricant and condoms. Declaring them evidence of guilt, she was immediately sent …
Continue reading "Criminalized Condoms Force China’s Sex Workers to Make a Difficult Choice"
Around the world, police departments, policy makers, and communities have struggled to develop best practices that ensure the delivery of both fair and effective policing. Recently, five police departments in Spain undertook an ambitious reform program intended to reduce ethnic profiling and increase the effectiveness and fairness of police stops and searches. Their collective experience shows that change is possible—while also illustrating the challenges and resources required to make change sustainable. Through a series of steps outlined in this report, police agencies reduced the ethnic disproportionality of their stops, increased the effectiveness of stops, while reducing the total number of people stopped, and improved relations with ethnic minority communities.
