Friday, January 18, 2019

Anti-Police Power Surrey Event: Challenging Police Power in Surrey (Jan. 26, 2019)


Anti-Police Power Surrey (APPS) is holding a roundtable discussion on policing in Surrey, on the need to defund police, and on ways to develop alternatives to police in Surrey. APPS is a group of people living and working in Surrey who oppose the domination of police, police violence and repression, and the wasteful, and wildly disproportionate, expenditure of public resources on policing in Surrey. APPS calls for social resources for communities not cops, for people not police and aims for the development of non-repressive social supports and care.


Details of the event are as follows.


“Challenging Police Power in Surrey”


What: Anti-Police Power Surrey event

When: 2:30-4:30 pm, Saturday, January 26, 2019

Where: Progressive Cultural Centre, #126 – 7536 130th Street, Surrey


In past municipal elections, there has been a lot of attention given to issues of public safety. Focus on shootings, drug operations, and youth involvement in gangs has generated consistent calls for greater public safety, predominantly through more police. The most recent election saw the idea of a municipal police force gain popular support and the new mayor and council moved immediately to start the transition. But police can’t address the root causes of the violence and social tensions that exist; police only uphold through force the social order that produces the violence.


In this political context, Anti-Police Power Surrey (APPS) formed to counter the dominant pro-police narrative and challenge the constantly expanding power of the police in Surrey. At this round table, we will share some of our work and open up a conversation about policing in Surrey. We want to talk together about how we might contest the persistent and often overwhelming presence of police in our communities, explore the sources of social conflicts that are used to justify increasing police resources, and imagine together strategies of community safety without resorting to police.

This event will be held in Surrey, on the traditional territory of the Kwantlen, Qayqayt, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen nations.

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