Youth Justice & Power Union
"We are the leaders we've been waiting for" - Grace Lee Boggs

2021 Home Page - Demands

 

Defund Bos Cops: 2021 Demands

We are in the midst of a national uprising that is calling on us to be steadfast in our defense of Black lives.

Last year, we launched the Defund Boscops campaign, giving the Boston City Council and Mayor the opportunity to join us in taking action. Their response was to placate our demands with cuts to overtime and shuffling money around within the police department.

This year, we demand accountability. The call to action remains the same: defund the police, invest in our communities.

Boston is a resource-rich city with a history of hiding behind task forces, special committees, and crisis funds instead of doing the work of systemic change. Black, Muslim, immigrant, and youth groups and organizations led by communities of color have been leading this work for years. Meanwhile, spending on policing in Boston is already over one million dollars a day, and BPD regularly overspends millions past the proposed overtime budget. 

Our communities know all too well that police reform does not work. From the implementation of body cameras to “community policing,” we have paid the price of the failures of reform for decades.

We refuse to accept that the city's investment in our communities is to add more surveillance and further criminalize us. We do not need more reforms; we need action that moves toward real, long-term change and away from policing.

We are fighting for a budget that reflects our values, invests in Black and brown communities, and supports full and vibrant lives for all of Boston’s residents. Our communities are united in our vision and commitment to building a city where we all have what we need to thrive. 

To achieve our vision, we demand that Mayor Kim Janey and Boston City Councilors:

  • Divest $120 million from the Boston Police budget, including a real cap on overtime spending. 

  • Invest the $120 million into safety and wellness programming, led by and designed by our communities, and completely disconnected from law enforcement.

  • Freeze all hiring for the Boston Police - no new cops, no new cadets!

We have proposed solutions to the violence and inequity we live every day. Now is the time for City Councilors and the Mayor to be accountable to our movements and invest in our communities. 

To learn more about the Defund Bos Cops coalition, visit defundboscops.org