Durham Beyond Policing

Durham Beyond Policing is a grassroots coalition to divest from policing and prisons and reinvest municipal resources into supporting the health and wellbeing of Black & Brown communities, benefiting all community members in Durham, NC.

The coalition developed this proposal because the draft budget for the City of Durham for 2019-20 contained a request from the DPD for 72 additional full time (FTE) officers over three years, with the first year’s cost given as $1,729,573 for an initial 25 new officers.

After considerable study, we have found the rationale for DPD’s budget request is incomplete and outdated, and we object to the premise that more officers will make the people of Durham safer. This proposal offers what we feel is a more holistic approach to some of the same issues and opportunities.

Durham voters have responded to the acknowledged crisis of mass incarceration and police violence by electing our current City Council, a new Sheriff, a new District Attorney, and three new Judges, all of whom have committed to reforming our criminal justice system of policing and incarceration. We have spoken with our votes. Our proposal invites our City Council to take action in line with these voter sentiments and with County Officials’ new initiatives.

Some of the organizations represented at our table include BYP 100 Durham chapter; SONG (Southerners On New Ground) Durham chapter; Jewish Voice for Peace Triangle chapter; Communities in Partnership (C.I.P); All Of Us Or None Durham chapter; Sanctuary Beyond Walls; SpiritHouse and Harm Free Zone; Triangle Showing Up for Racial Justice (TSURJ); and UE 150 Durham City Workers Union.

Our coalition has existed and grown since 2016 when we came together to give voice to the broad swath of community members opposed to building a new police headquarters with $70 million of our tax dollars. As we listened to Durham residents, Durham Beyond Policing coalition gathered over 500 signatures on a petition opposing the new police headquarters. We held a town hall forum, a rally, weekly pickets alongside Durham city workers for several months, and canvassed areas in East Durham, NC Central University, and the Bus Station to pass along our petition and gather stories about incidents between residents and the police.