Punch Up Collective is proud to sign on to the this statement, crafted by a range of prisoner justice, abolitionist and otherwise rad organizations. It calls for the defunding and dismantling of punitive state institutions, and the construction of, and investment in, alternatives that actually keep our communities safe. The statement reads, in part:
We can choose to build safe communities! We, the undersigned, are invested in building safe communities for all. We believe that as a society we are capable of preventing harm and violence differently than the failed punitive approaches governments fund today. And we believe that it’s possible to come together to STOP the expansion of policing and imprisonment, as well as move away from a reliance on policing, jails, prisons and immigration detention. We believe that we can invest, instead, in real safety for our communities by addressing the root causes of harm and violence in our society.
Read the full statement here.