
Dayvon Love
Director of Public Policy
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
The rise in the prison population and police budgets are the policy outcomes of the Southern Strategy that was initiated by the Republicans in the late 1960’s through the War on Drugs. It was accelerated by the Democrats by the 1994 crime bill. A general observation that can be made by studying a variety of data on crime statistics, incarceration and policing is that the current approach to public safety is ineffective at keeping people safe.
The only utility of the current regime of public safety and corrections is:
- Decimation of Black civil society
- Targeted use of violence against those who challenge the current social order – as a form of social control against poor people and people of color
- Use as political issue used to garner the support of white people against policy demands that empower Black people
- Violence interrupters – who are credible messengers who can diffuse conflicts in context where traditional law enforcement may not be able to
- Networks of community mediators who can help resolve deep conflicts that are ill-served in traditional courtroom settings
- Community based supports that address the traumas that play a big role in perpetuating the violence in our communities