[ "Punitive systems only create more cycles of trauma and
violence.”]
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ALTERNATIVES TO POLICE AND PRISONS: ACTIVISTS SHARE HOW TO BETTER
ADDRESS VIOLENCE  
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Teen Vogue Staff, Photography by Nyia Sissac
August 18, 2022
Teen Vogue
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_ "Punitive systems only create more cycles of trauma and
violence.” _

,

 

The backlash against criminal justice reform is in full swing. The
progressive district attorney of San Francisco was recalled
[[link removed]] after
being blamed for rising crime in that city. Calls to reinstate cash
bail
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escalating in Chicago and New York, though doing so would
disproportionately burden low-income people. President Joe
Biden’s recently-announced Safer America Plan
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for $13 billion to hire 100,000 police officers around the country in
the next five years.

All of this is happening even though crime is still at decade-long
lows in many parts of the country. In New York City, “incidents of
violent crime remain at historic lows,” as Bloomberg reported
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but residents say they are deeply concerned about it.

We’re seeing local, state, and federal officials resort to the same
strategies they deployed in previous decades: more funding for police,
more punishment, more people behind bars. The Chicago Transformation
Collab [[link removed]], a three-day event in June,
brought together activists, artists, and public defenders to talk
about what alternatives could look like.

With our partners at Zealous [[link removed]], who
helped organize the Collab, _Teen Vogue_ asked 11 of the attendees:
"What is one thing you know most people think about our current
response to violence, and one thing you wish people knew about an
alternative way?" Their responses are accompanied by original
portraits shot by Chicago photographer Nyia Sissac.

Here’s what they had to say.

TANYA LOZANO, Healthy Hood Chicago [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Community architect, activist, healer

[Tanya Lozano]

Most people understand our response to violence as the only way to do
so, to meet violence with more violence whether that means physical
violence through police brutality, or punitive violence through the
incarceration system. I wish people knew the practices of restorative
justice as an alternative with more humanity.

BELLA BAHHS, SISTER SURVIVOR NETWORK
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THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Conscientious, visionary, liberator

[Bella BAHHS]

Most people think that violence is a justification for violence. They
think that some “good” people have a right and even a duty to use
brute force to control and subdue other “bad” people. They believe
that there is something noble, respectable and even godly about the
work of police, prosecutors, criminal court judges and corrections
officers because they believe that some people deserve imprisonment,
brutalization and even to be put to death. But brutalization cannot
ever lead to positive transformation and violence cannot ever suppress
wickedness. As long as violence is considered permissible and
agreeable for some, we are all in danger. Forgiveness, love and moral
influence are the only sustainable and godly ways to redress harm —
not authority and punishment.

BRIANA PAYTON, Chicago Community Bond Fund [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Dedicated, compassionate, principled

Many people think it is perfectly justified to respond to violence
with ruthless punishment. They think it is a form of justice and an
effective deterrent. I wish people recognized that harming people in
the name of justice is not only morally inconsistent — it's also
ineffective. Punitive systems only create more cycles of trauma and
violence [[link removed]]. If
we really want our communities to heal, we will need to choose
restoration over revenge.

PATIENCE NICOLE CURRIE, Art From the Heart
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THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Resilient, powerful, heartful

[Patience Nicole Currie]

We have become numb to violence in my community. Every other week
there is somebody's face on a t-shirt. It has become the norm for
people to disappear from school or be in school as teenagers with
ankle bracelets. Once we heal together we can grow. Our healing is
essential. We must find a way to be a victor not a victim.

CHRISTINE ESCALERA, Alliance of Local Service Organization
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THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF: Respectful, strong, optimistic

I think what I hear alot about the violence is that it's only in
certain areas or happens to certain people. And that we can't do
anything to stop it. But we can for sure do our parts to help stop it.
It affects us all. Some of the individuals who are in the streets are
not there because they want to be. There is a deeper problem. The
problems start in the home most times. So if we could help families
with just basic needs that would go a long way.

PRIYA SHAH, The Simple Good [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Artist, global citizen, passionate

Most people know our response to violence is not enough and is
exceptionally embarrassing. In order to reduce violence in our
society, it is important to make it a priority to create environments
that encourage self-esteem, self-worth and empathy towards others.
With this we create individual purpose and accountability which
decreases the risk of violence and creates a peaceful environment for
all of us.

LAURA SOFIA CARDOZO, Breakout [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Curious, creative, passionate

Violence prevention efforts should [not] be led through a crime and
punishment lens. Instead, [we should] holistically assess the root
cause. We can leverage our collective power to champion change through
advocating for community resources and creating opportunities for
economic inclusivity.

[Laura Sophia Cardozo and Priya Shah]

Priya (L) and Laura (R)

CECILIA VALERIA RUIZ, Yollocalli Arts Reach [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Advocate, abolitionist, artist.

In order to address and prevent violence, especially violence against
society's most marginalized groups, we must first reflect on our
concept of justice and how we came to understand it. Our
responsibility is to unlearn the white supremacist rhetoric that
continues to be taught, enforced, and justified at an institutional
level in America. Only then will we be able to dismantle the systems
that oppress us. Only then will we be able to redefine justice, and
begin the process of healing.

CAT SANCHEZ, 3V Agency [[link removed]]

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Servant-hearted, curious, God-led

[Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Hat Sleeve and
Fashion]

Many people may believe violence is inevitable, and the current
system’s response of punishment and ostracism is necessary. However,
this creates an endless cycle of continued violence, temporary
band-aids and reactive measures. Violence is destructive expression of
failed problem solving, rather than a creative expression of
communication and resolution. I wish people practiced restorative
justice as an alternative lifestyle. Through restorative justice, we
no longer handle conflicts at face value, but we take time to
question, understand and repair the root cause of things. We are
proactive and create healthy, whole and sustainable environments that
empower community members to use creation rather than destruction to
express themselves

DESTINE PHILLIPS, the REAL Youth Initiative

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Regal, resilient, paragon

I think many people are quick to imagine punishment as the only
possible response to violence. I wish people would ask why violence
happens and center their response on transforming the conditions that
lead to violence.

[Destine Phillips]

BETH AWANO, Pozen Center’s Human Rights Lab and Center for the
Study of Race, Politics & Culture at the University of Chicago

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOU: Attentive, community-minded, unrelenting

[Image may contain Human Person Clothing Sleeve Apparel Face Smile and
Long Sleeve]

I think #BlackLivesMatter and broader abolitionist movements over the
last decade have clearly shown that police and prisons are racist
forms of violence. Because of these movements, people are coming to
understand that our current response to violence not only exacerbates
violence but is predatory in and of itself.

Understanding this reality shouldn’t lead to apathy or cynicism. I
wish people knew that we already have the tools to implement
alternative responses to violence. “Abolition,” as Ruth Wilson
Gilmore
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life in rehearsal." In addition to dismantling police and prisons and
the conditions that produce them, abolition calls for building and
rehearsing community-based safety strategies that expand our ideas
about what keeps us safe and builds life affirming institutions that
fulfill those needs. Steps to build a world responsive to the needs of
communities are already being taken in millions of experiments all
over the country and are starting to be documented through the virtual
zine and podcast project, One Million Experiments
[[link removed]]. So long as we continue to utilize
and build upon the skills we already have, a world without prisons and
police is possible and already here.

* Prison Abolition
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* Defund the Police
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