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A few years ago, I led message development for a police reform campaign in a major city. We used universal values, got buy-in from local leaders, gained traction in local media, and made inroads with relevant public officials. I felt good about it. 1/x (slowly unspooling thread)
But over time, the road to a policy win kept getting longer, and the depth of the problem became more gallingly clear. When a PD liaison comes to a clergy meeting and proudly makes clear he can beat up every man in the room, you realize inadequate training ain’t the problem. 2/
The problem was that at a very deep level the police were not on the same team as large segments of the community. There was no accountability for racism and abuse. And city hall feared their union. And the police take up 1/3 of the city budget. 3/
Needless to say, our campaign’s messaging changed. We do say “defund the police” now. That’s not the only thing we say or the first thing, but it’s important. Especially when the clear political play for local electeds is to do something meaningless and declare victory. 4/
The nature of local politics is what makes "defund the police" essential. As a policy demand, DTP has teeth. "Police reform" does not. If your demand doesn't have teeth, you will get a tiny crumb and a loud "You're welcome!" The cops play for keeps. You have to too. 5/
