Alexander Afnan (Georgetown University Law Centre – Georgetown University Law Centre) has posted An Abolitionist Vision: Reclaiming Public Safety from a Culture of Violence on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This article highlights that the endemic of police violence is a manifestation of a greater societal culture upheld by a hegemony that legitimizes police violence. Various institutions in civil society lead us to believe that crime is rampant, that people of color are dangerous, and that police are necessary to preserve the safety of our communities. This hegemony is further cemented through the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. This article proposes that reformist measures cannot yield fruit so long as this hegemony exists. Consequently, reforming police training and introducing new policies will only find success if placed within the context of creating a culture that is the very antithesis of the culture of violence — one that is instead centered around community wellbeing. This article argues that the first step to attaining meaningful and organic cultural change is to develop a consensus on the principles that will lie at the heart of this cultural change. Without this consensus, change will be haphazard and short- lived, which ultimately suits the status quo of violence. As a result, this article offers three principles that fundamentally undermine the underlying logic of the culture of violence: the oneness of humankind, the inherent dignity and moral capacity of each individual, and the conception of justice as restorative, reparative, and redistributive.