We ESPECIALLY welcome Black, Brown, and People of Color (Latino/a/x)
About Us
Durham Beyond Policing’s commitment to abolition requires a deep belief in and reverence for people’s abilities to name our own problems and create our own solutions when provided the necessary resources. Through our Community Design work, we will create alternatives by asking the residents of Durham to call for what we really want and need. Along the way we will practice democratic participation and being in right relationship with each other. Ultimately we’ll join forces to shift power to the people.
Our Process
Our Community Design project is based in the Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) framework. CPAR is an ethical choice that exposes and seeks to change existing power structures and inequalities within the community under study. It does so within a framework of smoothing out inequalities within the research structure.
We will roll out the Community Design Project within 4 Phases as followed:
Planning
We will move through intensive planning to identify stakeholders, set intentions, brainstorm on which communities we desire to co-create with, and form our team, which will include a core committee of 25 Durham leaders, and Durham Beyond Policing membership and staff members who will help us shape our framework. We also identify desired outcomes in the process.
Design
During this Phase, we begin to shape the container, making considerations around accessibility, volunteer capacity, and logistics support.
Engagement
We begin reaching out to our potential core committee of 25 Durham leaders, and having conversations. We will also begin doing outreach to Community Researchers, based on which communities are most impacted by gun violence and policing in our city.
We hold focus groups to begin understanding what critical needs residents of those communities are experiencing, and what they need/want to feel safer.
We will listen and learn about what our city’s collective needs are, and co-design a significant alternative to policing, and transform our culture of safety and accountability in Durham.
Action
The best and most successful model will come from community deliberation and visioning of what will keep us all safe. We will work with members to build public consensus for the project we will create, particularly within our own communities— specifically, Black, Brown, immigrant, poor and working class, youth, elders, people with disabilities, LGBTQ*, women, trans, and gender nonconforming people. We will listen and learn about what our city’s collective needs are, and co-design a significant alternative to policing, and transform our culture of safety and accountability in Durham.
Durham Beyond Policing is seeking an Organizing Coordinator of People’s Policy & Base Building who will co-lead organizing campaigns that win urgent, tangible improvements in our daily lives that get us closer to ending policing and incarceration. You will support Black and Brown working class community members teaching ourselves how to delve into municipal, county, and school budgets so we can understand how the system is misallocating our public dollars to fund policing and incarceration instead of human needs. You’ll help us distill complex concepts into clear, vivid ideas that inspire our base to take strategic action. You will choose the battles that matter most to our communities, that will deepen our consciousness and grow our base, and that will put us on a path to win more of what our people want and need over time.
Background
You are an organizer at heart, with a passion for listening to all kinds of people regardless of background, life experience or social upbringing, and you possess the ability to persuade community members to take courageous action together. You will bring your years of experience skillfully connecting state and local policy to creative, audacious, joyful on-the-ground organizing. You are focused on people, and sharing the stories of those who have been actively silenced. You understand the power of targeted one-on-ones and relational organizing to grow a membership base with patience and care. You embody leadership through love, listening, respect, and a bold commitment to liberation.
When you represent Durham Beyond Policing, you honor the humanity of those you interact with. The way you practice rigor and care in relationships reinforces DBP as a respected community organization and a trusted organizational partner. You move easefully through your tasks, and find fulfillment in amplifying organizing and advocacy work. You do your work through a lens of justice, liberation, inclusion, and accessibility.
You have a transparent, fair, collaborative leadership style. You embrace the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback. You are clear on your commitments and you follow through. You care for yourself in ways that allow you to sustain consistency, encouragement, and inspiration.
Hours: 35hrs/week, mostly 9:30AM-4:30PM Monday-Friday with regular evening meetings and occasional weekends.
Location: Must be based in Durham, NC
Desired Start Date: December 2022, with a 90-day evaluation [timing is negotiable].
Compensation: The annual salary for this position is $55,000. DBP offers a flexible, affirming and encouraging work environment; health insurance, PTO and vacation.
Application deadline: Position open until filled
Preferred Experience:
Experience in community organizing or social justice activism Training in popular education and critical participatory action methodology, or an eagerness to learn Background in public policy Experience using online project/team management tools like Slack, Signal, Basecamp, and other platforms Multilingual ability is a plus, especially Spanish/English
Required skills and abilities:
Strong interpersonal communication skills and commitment to building authentic relationships Passion for designing campaign arcs with strategic purpose that build people power through every tactical step taken Passion for coordinating community events that nourish and unite Confidence in public speaking and speaking with the media and coaching community members to do so Direct, caring communication and steady patience while collaborating with others Ability to manage multiple projects and learn new technology platforms quickly Self-motivated Ability to meet deadlines and collaborate well with others Joyful about working in a Black and Brown-led multiracial organization Reliable transportation, as this position is not remote and will require occasional local travel.
Responsibilities include:
Developing a strong organizing strategy and implementation plan, in authentic collaboration with membership, fellow staff, and advisors, and seeing the plans through to fruition
Developing outreach materials highlighting and announcing DBP’s community organizing work and events
Participating in weekly meetings with DBP staff
Facilitating meetings and workshops with members
Creating weekly reports to keep track of ongoing work
Building relationships with community members and trusted partners
Acting as a DBP spokesperson
Supervision:
Reports to Co-Director of People & Organizing Accountable to staff, DBP membership body and leadership
About Durham Beyond Policing:
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
We are working to defund and abolish the Durham police, the sheriff’s department, and the jails, while simultaneously redistributing public resources and funding towards the institutions and culture shifts necessary to keep us all truly safe. Ultimately, we are building a beloved community where those who have committed and experienced harm are never disposable, and where policing, surveillance, and incarceration are no longer part of how we relate to each other.
Currently, we have a small staff and a large team of amazing, active volunteers who power our work. Our volunteer work is themed around Arts and Culture (design, printmaking, street art, community engagement projects); Communications (press releases, earned media, op-ed authorship, social media); Funds (grants, events, crowdfunding, budgeting); Advocacy (meetings with electeds, observing public meetings, tracking campaign opportunities); Research (literature review, writing reports/op-eds, presenting recommendations); and Outreach (base building, mobilizations, events, workshops, demonstrations, direct action).
Our volunteer-driven work will continue to play a crucial role in continuing the work of Durham Beyond Policing in coming years, and we are looking for staff who understand the role of social, economic, and environmental justice organizations in building transformative movements. We’ve seen the nonprofit industrial complex replace mass-based organizing with overworking a few paid staff to do the bidding of funders and this dynamic damages the work. We seek to build the opposite– staff members working a healthy work-life balance in ways that enhance coordination, strengthen participatory democracy practices, and increase organizational follow through by cultivating and supporting member leadership, with the majority of contributions coming from committed grassroots donors.
Because of our particular focus in Black communities, communities of color, and working class communities in Durham, we are seeking candidates with familiarity and strong relationships in these communities.
Durham Beyond Policing has been a powerful grassroots formation composed of a large number of mostly unpaid visionaries since 2016. We know applying for jobs in our home city and within a justice movement can feel complicated. We will receive more qualified candidates than we can afford to hire and we will have to make very difficult choices. We hope that our hiring process introduces us to wonderful collaborators, even if we are unable to hire everyone. We intend for our hiring processes to build bridges and forge new relationships.
The truth is that movement organizations cannot win on staffing alone. We staff to improve our coordination and effectiveness, but we win by successfully growing our base of Durham residents from every walk of life engaged in participatory decision-making, with people from marginalized and exploited communities at the leadership center.
Benefits
Health insurance
Thirteen paid holidays and 24 days of paid time off that is accrued on a monthly basis
Paid and unpaid leave policies detailed in the personnel handbook.
Category: Exempt employee
To apply
If you require reasonable accommodation during your application process, please let the hiring committee know.
Subject line: “People’s Policy & Base Building Coordinator application from <YOUR NAME>”
In the body of the email include:
cover letter describing your interest in the position and any relevant experience
attached resume
three references, including a recent supervisor and colleague (name, phone, email, relationship to you)
Black people, indigenous people, people of color, persons with disabilities, women, trans and gender-nonconforming people, LGBTQ+ people, and people with lived experience surviving criminalization, repression, policing or jails and prisons, are strongly encouraged to apply. There are no formal education or degree requirements for this role.
Durham Beyond Policing is fiscally sponsored by Southern Vision Alliance (SVA). We have programmatic independence, we are supported by SVA’s administrative care for sponsored projects, and SVA’s board has ultimate fiscal and legal responsibility for Durham Beyond Policing’s actions.
Durham Beyond Policing and Southern Vision Alliance are equal opportunity employers. We recruit and hire qualified candidates on the basis of their qualifications and without regard to race, class, religion, sex, gender expression or identity, pregnancy status, marital status, or family responsibilities, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or any basis prohibited by law.
Durham Beyond Policing is seeking a skilled Communications & Cultural Work Coordinator to broadcast a compelling visionary narrative that resonates with our communities to build power, to streamline organizational communications with our volunteer base and supporters, and to create art that heals and transforms. The primary focus of this role will be to integrate Durham Beyond Policing’s abolitionist principles into our communications strategy. The ideal candidate brings strong writing and copy-editing, social media management, public relations, a high level of creativity, and a passion to connect with people across all backgrounds through cultural work and storytelling.
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
In your role as Communications & Cultural Work Coordinator, you will be responsible for developing a forward-facing communications strategy and narrative focus, while creating easily accessible and engaging content. The ideal candidate should exhibit a strong ability to coordinate across multiple communication channels and platforms, and a commitment to being a team player. We are looking for someone who is innovative in the area of cultural work, with an eye on cutting edge technologies, storytelling, and deconstructing harmful narratives that impact those on the socio-economic margin.
Experience You are an artist, performer or practitioner at heart, with an ability to get messaging across to many audiences, regardless of background, life experience or social upbringing.
You are focused on people, and sharing the stories of those who have been actively silenced.
You move easefully through your tasks, and find fulfillment in amplifying organizing and advocacy work. You embody leadership through love, listening, respect, and a bold commitment to liberation.
When you represent Durham Beyond Policing, you honor the humanity of those you interact with. The way you practice rigor and care in relationships reinforces DBP as a respected community organization and a trusted organizational partner.
You do your work through a lens of justice, liberation, inclusion, and accessibility. You have a transparent, fair, collaborative leadership style. You embrace the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback. You are clear on your commitments and you follow through. You care for yourself in ways that allow you to sustain consistency, encouragement, and inspiration.
Hours: 35hrs/week, mostly 9:30AM-4:30PM Monday-Friday with regular evening meetings and occasional weekends.
Location: Must be based in Durham, NC
Desired Start Date: December 5, 2022, with a 90-day evaluation [timing is negotiable]. Compensation: The annual salary for this position is $55,000. DBP offers a flexible, affirming and encouraging work environment; health insurance, PTO and vacation.
Application deadline: Position open until filled
Preferred Experience
Experience in community organizing or social justice activism
Experience in public relations, press contact management, earned and paid media
Experience using online project/team management tools like Slack, Signal, Basecamp, and other platforms
Background in artmaking or performance
Strong social media management skills (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)
Brilliant writer with the ability to convey difficult concepts
Experience in writing articles, op-eds, blogs etc.
Experience in capturing stories through audio storytelling or videography
Coordinating community events
Required skills and abilities
English-speaking or Multilingual a plus!
Strong interpersonal communication skills and commitment to building authentic relationships
Experience in content development and social media management
Confidence and steady patience while collaborating with others
Ability to manage multiple projects and learn new technology platforms quickly
Self-motivated
Confidence in public-speaking
Ability to meet deadlines and collaborate with others
Joyful about working in a Black and Brown-led multiracial organization
Reliable transportation, as this position is not remote and will require occasional local travel.
Supervision
Reports to Co-Director of People & Organizing
Accountable to staff, DBP membership body and leadership
Responsibilities include
Developing a strong communications and forward-facing narrative strategy
Developing press releases highlighting and announcing DBP’s community organizing work and events
Orienting our base to our communications best practices
Auditing/monitoring existing communications channels and platforms
Researching useful technology tools, and facilitating organization-wide implementation
Developing social media content and managing our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts
Acting as DBP’s Press/Public Relations Manager and Spokesperson on occasion
Collecting, capturing and curating stories of community members
Some filming/editing short videos for social media/website
Attending weekly meetings with DBP staff
Creating weekly reports to keep track of ongoing work
Build relationships with community members and trusted partners
About Durham Beyond Policing
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
We are working to defund and abolish the Durham police, the sheriff’s department, and the jails, while simultaneously redistributing public resources and funding towards the institutions and culture shifts necessary to keep us all truly safe. Ultimately, we are building a beloved community where those who have committed and experienced harm are never disposable, and where policing, surveillance, and incarceration are no longer part of how we relate to each other.
Currently, we have a small staff and a large team of amazing, active volunteers who power our work. Our volunteer work is themed around Arts and Culture (design, printmaking, street art, community engagement projects); Communications (press releases, earned media, op-ed authorship, social media); Funds (grants, events, crowdfunding, budgeting); Advocacy (meetings with electeds, observing public meetings, tracking campaign opportunities); Research (literature review, writing reports/op-eds, presenting recommendations); and Outreach (base building, mobilizations, events, workshops, demonstrations, direct action).
Our volunteer-driven work will continue to play a crucial role in continuing the work of Durham Beyond Policing in coming years, and we are looking for staff who understand the role of social, economic, and environmental justice organizations in building transformative movements. We’ve seen the nonprofit industrial complex replace mass-based organizing with overworking a few paid staff to do the bidding of funders and this dynamic damages the work. We seek to build the opposite– staff members working a healthy work-life balance in ways that enhance coordination, strengthen participatory democracy practices, and increase organizational follow through by cultivating and supporting member leadership, with the majority of contributions coming from committed grassroots donors.
Because of our particular focus in Black communities, communities of color, and working class communities in Durham, we are seeking candidates with familiarity and strong relationships in these communities.
Durham Beyond Policing has been a powerful grassroots formation composed of a large number of mostly unpaid visionaries since 2016. We know applying for jobs in our home city and within a justice movement can feel complicated. We will receive more qualified candidates than we can afford to hire and we will have to make very difficult choices. We hope that our hiring process introduces us to wonderful collaborators, even if we are unable to hire everyone. We intend for our hiring processes to build bridges and forge new relationships.
The truth is that movement organizations cannot win on staffing alone. We staff to improve our coordination and effectiveness, but we win by successfully growing our base of Durham residents from every walk of life engaged in participatory decision-making, with people from marginalized and exploited communities at the leadership center.
Benefits
Health insurance
Thirteen paid holidays and 24 days of paid time off that is accrued on a monthly basis
Paid and unpaid leave policies detailed in the personnel handbook.
Communications & Cultural Work Coordinator will be provided with a high quality work laptop and hotspot (as needed). You will be responsible for keeping equipment in good working condition as it will be in your possession at all times for the duration of your contract.
Category: Exempt employee
To apply
If you require reasonable accommodation during your application process, please let the hiring committee know.
Submit the following to hiring@durhambeyondpolicing.com:
Subject line: “Communications & Cultural Work application from <YOUR NAME>”
In the body of the email include:
cover letter describing your interest in the position and any relevant experience
attached resume
three references, including a recent supervisor and colleague (name, phone, email, relationship to you)
Black people, indigenous people, people of color, persons with disabilities, women, trans and gendernonconforming people, LGBTQ+ people, and people with lived experience surviving criminalization, repression, policing or jails and prisons, are strongly encouraged to apply. There are no formal education or degree requirements for this role.
Durham Beyond Policing is fiscally sponsored by Southern Vision Alliance (SVA). We have programmatic independence, we are supported by SVA’s administrative care for sponsored projects, and SVA’s board has ultimate fiscal and legal responsibility for Durham Beyond Policing’s actions.
Durham Beyond Policing and Southern Vision Alliance are equal opportunity employers. We recruit and hire qualified candidates on the basis of their qualifications and without regard to race, class, religion, sex, gender expression or identity, pregnancy status, marital status, or family responsibilities, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or any basis prohibited by law.
Durham Beyond Policing is looking for an emerging leader local to the Durham community to serve as District Organizer leading our Community Participatory Action Research Project. You will work in collaboration with Durham Beyond Policing staff, member leadership, advisory board, and partner organizations. We are seeking candidates who are connected to Durham communities, and who align with DBP’s mission, vision and values.
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
As District Organizer, you will lead several critical functions including organizing around important issues, such as fighting over-policing, surveillance, and incarceration, and creating opportunities for our people to thrive. You will be tasked with leading community outreach, base-building, skilling up and growing through leadership development and professional training opportunities.
Our Community Participatory Action Research Project (CPAR) is a new endeavor by Durham Beyond Policing, deepening our practice of listening to our fellow residents to develop solutions to the challenges our neighborhoods face. Community participatory action research is a collective process of investigation, empowerment, and action. The people most affected by the problems investigate and analyze the issues, sometimes inviting in the help of additional experts, and ultimately act together to bring about meaningful, long-term solutions.
In your role, you will assist Durham community residents in your neighborhood in developing and implementing alternatives to policing as a collective project. Community participatory action research is an approach to creating new forms of knowledge and practice that center collaboration and creativity. In Durham, we envision using community participatory action research to generate models that can address harm and violence without policing.
We will use community participatory action research to create at least one intervention to harm and violence impacting our communities. You will be engaging your neighbors in an iterative process of identifying pressing safety issues, critical needs, and resources necessary to build trusted systems of safety and community accountability. It is essential that the people organizing the research belong to the communities, have trusted relationships with community members, and have a vested interest in building systems that will keep their communities safe. We want to work with communities that have experienced a history of over-policing, and work together in finding a solution to root causes.
Hours: 30hrs/week, mostly 12pm-6pm Monday-Friday with regular evening meetings and occasional weekends.
Desired Start Date: November 1, 2022, with a 90-day evaluation.
Compensation: The salary for this position is $42,000. This is a 12 month, 1099 contract position. DBP offers a flexible, affirming and encouraging work environment; health reimbursement stipend, PTO and vacation.
Application deadline: Position open until filled
Experience
You are ready to lead long range planning to fulfill Durham Beyond Policing’s vision, and support our incredible team of hardworking workers and volunteers to actualize it.
You are eager to engage neighbors and community members in learning together and building an intervention to harm and violence that impacts our communities.
You embody leadership through love, listening, respect, and a bold commitment to liberation.
When you represent Durham Beyond Policing, you honor the humanity of those you interact with. The way you practice rigor and care in relationships establishes DBP as a respected community organization and a trusted organizational partner.
You do your work through a lens of justice, liberation, inclusion, and accessibility. You have a transparent, fair, collaborative leadership style. You embrace the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback. You are clear on your commitments and you follow through. You care for yourself in ways that allow you to sustain consistency, encouragement, and inspiration.
Preferred Experience
Experience in community organizing, or union work (preferred but not required)
Strong leadership qualities and a positive attitude towards working with people from different generations and backgrounds
Strong partnership skills, able to establish relationships with community leaders, residents and fellow staff
Influence and trust within your community and or neighborhood
High degree of emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills
Experience and/or commitment learning about transformative justice, conflict transformation, and community accountability
Excellent communication skills and responsiveness
Excellent written, analytical, oral, organizational, and time management skills
A commitment to the work of Durham Beyond Policing and readiness to grow and learn with the membership
Required skills and abilities
English-speaking, Bilingual a plus!
Strong interpersonal communication skills and commitment to building authentic relationships
Experience in managing event logistics, eager to be the first there and last to leave
Confidence and steady patience while collaborating with others
Ability to manage multiple projects, events and logistical needs
Self-motivated
Ability to meet deadlines and collaborate with others
Joyful about working in a Black and Brown-led multiracial organization
Reliable transportation, as this position is in-person and not remote.
Supervision
Reports to Co-Director of People & Organizing
Works in close partnership with Co-Coordinator of CPAR & Popular Education and Co-District Organizer
Accountable to your CPAR Co-District Organizer, staff, DBP membership body and leadership
Responsibilities include
Assisting Durham community residents in your neighborhood in developing and implementing alternatives to policing as a collective project.
Being an advocate and leader in your community around addressing interpersonal harm and police violence
Engaging your neighbors in an iterative process of identifying pressing safety issues, critical needs, and resources necessary to build trusted systems of safety and community accountability.
Facilitating meeting spaces, people’s assemblies and town halls with residents and other stakeholders
Assisting with setting up/cleaning up meeting spaces
Attending weekly meetings with DBP staff
Creating weekly reports to keep track of ongoing work
Build relationships with community members
District Organizers will be provided with a high quality work laptop and hotspot. You will be responsible for keeping equipment in good working condition as it will be in your possession at all times for the duration of your contract.
About Durham Beyond Policing
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
We are working to defund and abolish the Durham police, the sheriff’s department, and the jails, while simultaneously redistributing public resources and funding towards the institutions and culture shifts necessary to keep us all truly safe. Ultimately, we are building a beloved community where those who have committed and experienced harm are never disposable, and where policing, surveillance, and incarceration are no longer part of how we relate to each other.
Currently, we have a small staff and a large team of amazing, active volunteers who power our work. Our volunteer work is themed around Arts and Culture (design, printmaking, street art, community engagement projects); Communications (press releases, earned media, op-ed authorship, social media); Funds (grants, events, crowdfunding, budgeting); Advocacy (meetings with electeds, observing public meetings, tracking campaign opportunities); Research (literature review, writing reports/op-eds, presenting recommendations); and Outreach (base building, mobilizations, events, workshops, demonstrations, direct action).
Our volunteer-driven work will continue to play a crucial role in continuing the work of Durham Beyond Policing in coming years, and we are looking for staff who understand the role of social, economic, and environmental justice organizations in building transformative movements. We’ve seen the nonprofit industrial complex replace mass-based organizing with overworking a few paid staff to do the bidding of funders and this dynamic damages the work. We seek to build the opposite– staff members working a healthy work-life balance in ways that enhance coordination, strengthen participatory democracy practices, and increase organizational follow through by cultivating and supporting member leadership, with the majority of contributions coming from committed grassroots donors.
Because of our particular focus in Black communities, communities of color, and working class communities in Durham, we are seeking candidates with familiarity and strong relationships in these communities.
Durham Beyond Policing has been a powerful grassroots formation composed of a large number of mostly unpaid visionaries since 2016. We know applying for jobs in our home city and within a justice movement can feel complicated. We will receive more qualified candidates than we can afford to hire and we will have to make very difficult choices. We hope that our hiring process introduces us to wonderful collaborators, even if we are unable to hire everyone. We intend for our hiring processes to build bridges and forge new relationships.
The truth is that movement organizations cannot win on staffing alone. We staff to improve our coordination and effectiveness, but we win by successfully growing our base of Durham residents from every walk of life engaged in participatory decision-making, with people from marginalized and exploited communities at the leadership center.
Benefits
Health reimbursement stipend
Thirteen paid holidays and 24 days of paid time off that is accrued on a monthly basis
Paid and unpaid leave policies detailed in the personnel handbook.
Category: Exempt employee
To apply
If you require reasonable accommodation during your application process, please let the hiring committee know.
Submit the following to hiring@durhambeyondpolicing.com:
Subject line: “CPAR District Organizer _____Communityapplication from <YOUR NAME>”
In the body of the email include:
cover letter describing your interest in the position and any relevant experience
attached resume
three references, including a recent supervisor and colleague (name, phone, email, relationship to you)
Black people, indigenous people, people of color, persons with disabilities, women, trans and gendernonconforming people, LGBTQ+ people, and people with lived experience surviving criminalization, repression, policing or jails and prisons, are strongly encouraged to apply. There are no formal education or degree requirements for this role.
Durham Beyond Policing is fiscally sponsored by Southern Vision Alliance (SVA). We have programmatic independence, are supported by SVA’s administrative care for sponsored projects, and SVA’s board has ultimate fiscal and legal responsibility for Durham Beyond Policing’s actions.
Durham Beyond Policing and Southern Vision Alliance are equal opportunity employers. We recruit and hire qualified candidates on the basis of their qualifications and without regard to race, class, religion, sex, gender expression or identity, pregnancy status, marital status, or family responsibilities, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or any basis prohibited by law.
Since his run for office in 2017 Mayor Pro Temp Mark-Anthony Middleton has advocated for Durham to adopt ShotSpotter technology, yet another costly means of marking gun violence in Durham after it has already occurred. At the same time Councilmember Middleton has vocally opposed and voted against our community-rooted organizations’ attempts to request municipal investment toward preventative solutions or to push back against the gun violence enacted by the police in our neighborhoods.
ShotSpotter offered Durham a free six-month trial of its gunshot-detection system and Councilmember Middleton wanted our City Council to “… take that deal” (N&O, August 6, 2020) by installing sensors, basically sensitive microphones, around Durham neighborhoods to pick up sounds from the street that might be gunfire, and using the sensors to locate where the shots were fired, then sending the information to the Durham Police Department (this description of how Shotspotter’s Flex tech works from NY Times, March 17, 2015). The “deal”, it turned out, would be expensive and ineffective.
ShotSpotter costs $65,000 to $90,000 per square mile per year, with an additional $10,000 per square mile one-time initiation fee according to their own website. The Shotspotter Flex microphones will automatically call the police to a scene when activated by sounds resembling gunshots, but is that a good thing? The arrival of armed law enforcement officers often heightens danger in situations that could be better addressed by experts in de-escalation. ShotSpotter is roaming the country trying to find cities to buy their product, and it is no surprise that they are offering a free trial gimmick.
Despite ShotSpotter corporation’s aggressive resistance to transparency, in 2016 a Forbes tech reporter obtained ShotSpotter data directly from customer cities and learned that authorities dispatched by a ShotSpotter alert were many times unable to find evidence of gunshots. “When combined with police dispatch records that show what happened when officers responded to the alerts, a clear pattern emerges: lots of calls, but few tangible results. Of the thousands of ShotSpotter alerts in these cities, police were unable to find evidence of gunshots between 30%-70% of the time.”
“It’s true that using ShotSpotter has led to arrests, including some where a ‘smoking gun’ isn’t a cliche, but an actual description of a crime scene. Police dispatch records show that these instances are exceedingly rare, however, amounting to about one percent of all calls. Many cities that pay for the technology thinking they will catch criminals in the act end up disappointed as a result.” “While officers are responding to more illegal gunfire, they rarely catch the shooter. And evidence that could be used to build a case and bolster a prosecution–such as shell casings left behind or witness testimony–isn’t often attributed to ShotSpotter in police or court records. The question now is whether the technology is worth the millions of dollars it’s costing taxpayers each year…” https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2016/11/17/shotspotter-struggles-to-prove-impact-as-silicon-valley-answer-to-gun-violence/
It is wrong and misleading to tell Durham neighborhoods reeling with grief as a result of gun violence that ShotSpotter technology will offer solutions. ShotSpotter technology, when functioning correctly, will call the police department (with or without the consent of the people present) and at very best the police will then use a combination of restraints and weapons to propel the person into a carceral system that has been proven to cause long-term harm to people and their families and communities.
Durham residents deserve structural change and proven, proactive, and preventative solutions to the violence in our communities. We deserve responsible stewardship of our public resources. There are policing proponents who would look at the multitude of problems with Shotspotter and propose that we use the money to instead hire additional police officers, buy more surveillance cameras, and approve any request from the police department without inquiry or debate (so different from how requests are interrogated for city worker pay, public housing, youth programs, workforce development, eviction diversion, neighborhood improvement, or parks and recreation, for example). But incidents of gun threats and gun violence aren’t just happening inside communities, they are happening to communities– at the hands of the police. Durham police officers have gone so far as to use firearms to threaten children. The time is long overdue to turn towards more visionary planning and investment.
Describing ShotSpotter technology as a means to curb gun violence feels like another attempt to undermine the work of community-members who fought to build an alternative to policing and surveillance in Durham through the Durham Community Safety & Wellness Task Force joint effort across City, County, and Durham Public Schools. We need alternatives that actually address the root causes of why violence and criminalized acts happen to begin with: unattended mental health crisis, poverty, housing instability, and untreated substance addiction. We’re interested in solutions that prioritize the holistic health of our people, and help us build towards keeping each other safe, through de-escalation and transformative interventions. Our elected and appointed officials should use our city’s resources towards results-driven solutions that move us toward trusting each other and not fear.
Approving the “free trial” version of ShotSpotter would be an overwhelmingly regressive move, and would in fact, still cost our residents their safety and security. The paid version of the technology proposed for 3 square miles in East Durham in 2017 would have cost $235,000 (IndyWeek article, January 2020? 2019?). That same funding could be used over those same three square miles towards meeting the needs of those residents. The residents of those 3 square miles deserve a say in solutions that would prevent violence in the first place.
Because the tech is expensive most cities limit the ShotSpotter sensors to a particular geographic zone, and because of structural racism over many decades, that zone is invariably a Black/ Brown neighborhood. Unless you are Charlotte and you purchased the tech with grant money in preparation for the DNC, in which case the ShotSpotter installation went downtown. When Charlotte, NC ended a contract with ShotSpotter in 2016, the Charlotte Observer reported that the memo from their City Manager and Council concluded: “…Based on its experience with the system, CMPD feels the return on investment was not high enough to justify a renewal.” We’ve seen Shotspotter implemented in Charlotte, NC, and it was so ineffective and costly that the city chose to not renew the contract. Durham has an opportunity to learn from that here.
Chicago’s Office of the Inspector-General analyzed more than a year’s worth of Chicago Shotspotter data and concluded that Chicago Police Department responses to ShotSpotter alerts can seldom be shown to lead to investigatory stops which might have investigative value and rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime. Additionally, OIG identified evidence that the introduction of ShotSpotter technology in Chicago has changed the way some CPD members perceive and interact with individuals present in areas where ShotSpotter alerts are frequent. Specifically, OIG reviewed instances in which CPD members rely, at least in part, on a perceived aggregate frequency of ShotSpotter alerts in an area to form the basis for an investigatory stop or as part of the rationale for a pat down once a stop has been initiated. Additionally, better data on law enforcement outcomes from ShotSpotter alerts would be valuable to support the City’s future assessments of whether to extend, amend, or discontinue its contractual relationship with ShotSpotter.
“Our study of ShotSpotter data is not about technological accuracy, it’s about operational value,” said Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety Deborah Witzburg. “If the Department is to continue to invest in technology which sends CPD members into potentially dangerous situations with little information––and about which there are important community concerns–– it should be able to demonstrate the benefit of its use in combating violent crime. The data we analyzed plainly doesn’t do that. Meanwhile, the very presence of this technology is changing the way CPD members interact with members of Chicago’s communities. We hope that this analysis will equip stakeholders to make well-informed decisions about the ongoing use of ShotSpotter technology.”
According to data from the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications: 89% of ShotSpotter deployments in Chicago turned up no gun-related incident at all, and less than 5% of ShotSpotter alerts led police to a shooting or attempted shooting. The vast majority of shootings are also called in through 9-1-1 by residents. 86% of ShotSpotter deployments don’t produce any kind of police incident report, and there are more than 20,000 dead-end ShotSpotter deployments every year. On an average day in Chicago, there are more than 61 ShotSpotter-initiated police deployments that turn up no evidence of any crime, let alone gun crime.
“The groups say a study of Chicago police data found that over a nearly 22-month period ending in mid-April, almost 90% of ShotSpotter alerts didn’t result in officers reporting evidence of shots fired or of any gun crime. The technology is only used in 12 police districts with the city’s largest proportion of Black and Latino residents, which the groups say “inflates statistics about supposed gunfire in these communities, creating a faulty, tech-based justification for ever more aggressive policing.”
“These deployments create an extremely dangerous situation for residents, prompting unnecessary and hostile police encounters, and creating the conditions for abusive police tactics that have plagued Chicago for decades,” the groups wrote.
ShotSpotter, a California based company that produces the gunshot detection system, has contracts with over 100 police departments nationwide. In Chicago, it sent an average of 71.4 alerts to officers each day during the period studied, according to the court filing. That included the March 29 alert that led to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago officer.”
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“The court filing tells a different story: one of a system that prompts officers to race to scenes where they think they may encounter armed suspects and are thus more inclined to use lethal force. It says the ShotSpotter system — which the business says detects gunshots with “97% accuracy” — sent Chicago officers on an average of 61 “dead end” searches per day, possibly because it doesn’t accurately distinguish between shots and other loud noises, such as firecrackers and backfiring cars.
But the number of “dead end” searches does not address a reality in Chicago: People who fire guns often run away or, especially in a city where drive-by shootings are routine, gunmen are often blocks and even miles away by the time police arrive.
The system is especially dangerous in Chicago, according to the filing, because of the police department’s decades-long reputation for using unnecessary force.
“Residents who happen to be in the vicinity of a false alert will be regarded as presumptive threats, likely to be targeted by police for investigatory stops, foot pursuits, or worse,” the filing says.”
-PBS NewsHour, May 2021, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/groups-say-gunshot-detection-systems-unreliable-seek-review
Durham Beyond Policing is looking for a visionary leader to direct our work as Co-Director of People & Organizing, in partnership with the Co-Director of Development & Movement Building, and in collaboration with staff, member leadership, and our advisory board. You must have a demonstrated long-time commitment to our mission, vision, and values.
As Co-Director of People & Organizing you will lead several critical functions that support Durham Beyond Policing’s continued success as an organization, including managing organizing, operations, culture, and local organizational relationships.
The Co-Director of People & Organizing will lead the charge on moving Durham Beyond Policing forward by implementing practices, systems and tools where they currently don’t exist, and improving all structures wherever possible.
Hours: 35-40 hrs/week, mostly 9am-5pm Monday-Friday with regular evening meetings and occasional weekends. Desired Start Date: May 1, 2022, with a 90-day evaluation.
Compensation: The salary for this position is $65,000. DBP offers a flexible, encouraging work environment; health, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) retirement plan contribution; health reimbursement account, vacation, life insurance, detailed below.
Application deadline: Position open until filled
Experience
You are ready to lead long range planning to fulfill Durham Beyond Policing’s vision, and support our incredible team of hardworking workers and volunteers to actualize it.
You are eager to develop systems and infrastructure to support healthy, sustainable work culture and effectiveness in grassroots organizing.
You embody leadership through love, listening, respect, and a bold commitment to liberation.
When you represent Durham Beyond Policing, you honor the humanity of those you interact with. The way you practice rigor and care in relationships establishes DBP as a respected community organization and a trusted organizational partner.
You manage staff and volunteers within an organization through a lens of justice, liberation, inclusion, and accessibility. You have a transparent, fair, collaborative leadership style. You embrace the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback. You are clear on your commitments and you follow through. You care for yourself in ways that allow you to sustain consistency, encouragement, and inspiration.
As Co-Director of People & Movement Building, you will bring a high level of professional and proven experience, an acumen for liberatory management (recognizing supervision as a tool to cultivate movement leadership), and the demonstrated ability to lead a rapidly evolving organization. You will have managed a team within an organization and will be deeply committed to justice, liberation, inclusion and accessibility.
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following professional and personal experience and qualities:
Expertise in skillfully managing teams with excellent results. Prior experience with unionized workers and collective bargaining processes is a plus
Expertise in people management, including 5+ years of direct supervisory experience and 2+ years of developing new leaders
Experience overseeing compliance efforts, and developing administrative processes and procedures
Strong partnership skills, able to establish credibility and rapport with team members
Influential with a demonstrated ability to coach and counsel employees
High degree of emotional intelligence, interpersonal, and negotiation skills
Track record of successfully navigating complex employee relations situations
Excellent written, analytical, oral, organizational, and time management skills
A commitment to the work of Durham Beyond Policing and readiness to grow and learn with the membership
Joyful about working in a Black and Brown-led multiracial organization
Required skills and abilities
Fluency in organizational development and strategic planning
Intuitive zeal for mapping power and plotting winning campaigns
Strong interpersonal communication skills and commitment to building authentic relationships
Mighty confidence and steady patience while collaborating with team members, in coalitional settings, with elected leaders, with funders, during interviews, speeches and debates, in tense settings and across challenging power dynamics
Strong writing and editing skills
Experience with databases and tracking details
Ability to manage multiple projects, plot benchmarks, and multitask in a busy environment
Ability to meet deadlines and motivate self and team
Experience in and commitment to transformative justice, conflict transformation, and community accountability
Supervision
Reports to DBP Advisory Board
Works in close partnership with the Co-Director of Development & Movement Building
Accountable to Executive Director of Southern Vision Alliance, DBP’s fiscal sponsor
Accountable to your DBP Co-Director, staff, and members
Supervises, manages, and supports the staff to be successful, and helps coordinate and support DBP members
Responsibilities include
Manage Coordinator of Participatory Action Research and Popular Education, Coordinator of People’s Policy and Basebuilding, and Coordinator of Communications and Cultural Work
Manage Durham Beyond Policing partner relationships; follow up with coalition partner leads, create and manage database with lead points of contact, ensures alignment and recommitment of members to DBP’s Principles of Unity
Meet regularly with other squad leads, and Campaign Coordinator to ensure cross-squad synergy of strategy and activities towards DBP goals
Develop and solidify internal infrastructure of Durham Beyond Policing, to prepare for bringing in additional paid staff, and management of philanthropic funding
Analyze the County and City budgets as part of DBP’s invest/ divest strategy
Develop a critical participatory action research strategy and generate benchmarks to support Durham communities most impacted by gun violence and police patrolling/ surveillance in researching and deriving transformative solutions
About Durham Beyond Policing
Durham Beyond Policing (DBP) is a grassroots abolitionist formation devoted to the end of policing in all forms, and the creation of systems of safety rooted in care and community accountability. We are pro-Black, we are Black and Brown-led, and we trust the leadership of Black women, trans, and gender non-conforming people. We are survivors of state-sanctioned, interpersonal, racial, sexual, and gender-based violence, and these experiences root our commitment to abolition.
We are working to defund and abolish the Durham police, the sheriff’s department, and the jails, while simultaneously redistributing public resources and funding towards the institutions and culture shifts necessary to keep us all truly safe. Ultimately, we are building a beloved community where those who have committed and experienced harm are never disposable, and where policing, surveillance, and incarceration are no longer part of how we relate to each other.
Currently, we have a small staff and a large team of amazing, active volunteers who power our work. Our volunteer work is themed around Arts and Culture (design, printmaking, street art, community engagement projects); Communications (press releases, earned media, op-ed authorship, social media); Funds (grants, events, crowdfunding, budgeting); Advocacy (meetings with electeds, observing public meetings, tracking campaign opportunities); Research (literature review, writing reports/op-eds, presenting recommendations); and Outreach (base building, mobilizations, events, workshops, demonstrations, direct action).
Our volunteer-driven work will continue to play a crucial role in continuing the work of Durham Beyond Policing in coming years, and we are looking for staff who understand the role of social, economic, and environmental justice organizations in building transformative movements. We’ve seen the nonprofit industrial complex replace mass-based organizing with overworking a few paid staff to do the bidding of funders and this dynamic damages the work. We seek to build the opposite– staff members working a healthy work-life balance in ways that enhance coordination, strengthen participatory democracy practices, and increase organizational follow through by cultivating and supporting member leadership, with the majority of contributions coming from committed grassroots donors.
Because of our particular focus in Black communities, communities of color, and working class communities in Durham, we are seeking candidates with familiarity and strong relationships in these communities.
Durham Beyond Policing has been a powerful grassroots formation composed of a large number of mostly unpaid visionaries since 2016. We know applying for jobs in our home city and within a justice movement can feel complicated. We will receive more qualified candidates than we can afford to hire and we will have to make very difficult choices. We hope that our hiring process introduces us to wonderful collaborators, even if we are unable to hire everyone. We intend for our hiring processes to build bridges and forge new relationships.
The truth is that movement organizations cannot win on staffing alone. We staff to improve our coordination and effectiveness, but we win by successfully growing our base of Durham residents from every walk of life engaged in participatory decision-making, with people from marginalized and exploited communities at the leadership center.
Benefits
401(k) Retirement Plan 3% Matching Contribution
High quality, low deductible health, dental, and vision insurance
Health reimbursement account
Thirteen paid holidays and 24 days of paid time off that is accrued on a monthly basis (prorated for part-time, salaried staff).
Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Optional Employee Paid Supplemental insurances: Additional life insurance and Short Term & Long Term Disability Insurance
Paid and unpaid leave policies detailed in the personnel handbook.
Category: Exempt employee
To apply
If you require reasonable accommodation during your application process, please let the hiring committee know.
Submit the following to hiring@durhambeyondpolicing.com:
Subject line: “Co-Director of People & Organizingapplication from <YOUR NAME>” In the body of the email include:
cover letter describing your interest in the position and any relevant experience
attached resume
three references, including a recent supervisor and colleague (name, phone, email, relationship to you)
Black people, indigenous people, people of color, persons with disabilities, women, trans and gendernonconforming people, LGBTQ+ people, and people with lived experience surviving criminalization, repression, policing or jails and prisons, are strongly encouraged to apply. There are no formal education or degree requirements for this role.
Durham Beyond Policing is fiscally sponsored by Southern Vision Alliance (SVA). We have programmatic independence, are supported by SVA’s administrative care for sponsored projects, and SVA’s board has ultimate fiscal and legal responsibility for Durham Beyond Policing’s actions.
Durham Beyond Policing and Southern Vision Alliance are equal opportunity employers. We recruit and hire qualified candidates on the basis of their qualifications and without regard to race, class, religion, sex, gender expression or identity, pregnancy status, marital status, or family responsibilities, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or any basis prohibited by law.
Durham Beyond Policing members have earned major wins this year, including the launch of the Community Safety and Wellness Task Force, the creation of the new Department of Community Safety, and the 10 to Transform Campaign collaboration with Durham for All.
Our position is clear — increasing police forces in our most vulnerable and under-resourced neighborhoods will not make us safer. The time for us to create the conditions for our collective safety and thriving is now. Early voting is underway, until October 30, and the municipal election is November 2. Please vote, and bring your people to the polls with you. We believe in electing people who will work to sustain the gains we have made and move our city towards a future where safety is defined as conditions that allow all of us to live and thrive. We work for transformative justice and accountability. While we cannot endorse any candidate in Durham’s municipal election, we created a voter guide to present each candidate’s position on community safety in Durham, and for incumbents, to summarize how they have voted on recent decisions relatedto community safety.
Please share widely within your Bull City networks!
Visit dcovotes.com for info on how to get your vote on.
Congratulations for your part in building toward the Durham we all deserve during this year’s municipal budgeting process! You and about 1500 of our Bull City neighbors were active participants in the 10 to Transform campaign with Durham Beyond Policing Coalition and Durham For All. Most of us have never had a say in our unjust economic system but we dove right in and we learned together during this budget cycle. Let’s celebrate at the 10 to Transform cookout on Sunday, June 27, 2021 from 4-6pm (location soon, please wear mask). Friends and families abundantly welcome.
Our goal for Durham County was to divest 10% from the County budget for jails and policing and invest it into mental healthcare. Last night, Monday, June 14, 2021 was the County Commissioners vote (and next Monday, June 21st will be the City Council vote). The five County Commissioners voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget last night and we are so proud of how your hard work throughout the 10 to Transform campaign was reflected in the outcome.
Your advocacy pushed the Board of County Commissioners to unanimously agree to increase spending on mental health, a line item that has stagnated for years, through a million dollar investment in mental health services.
You raised critical questions, finally bringing the Sheriff into a transparent conversation about his budget that he has avoided for so long. We see this as groundwork for reduction of the harms of the jail and policing, though we didn’t see the reallocation of 48 vacancies from the Sheriff’s department and jail to expand mental healthcare access to Durham residents that we hoped for.
In the final stretches, Sheriff Birkhead waged a serious counter-organizing campaign against the 10 to Transform campaign. His office wielded the full weight of his positional power to dismiss our lived experiences, misrepresented our campaign aims in media outlets, flexed his connections with colleagues writing on their powerful institutions’ letterheads on the Sheriff’s department’s behalf (he sent these letters to us), all while spending public resources generated through our collective labor.
His efforts cannot erase our participation or undo the truth. We still urgently need to disentangle the criminal legal system from mental healthcare. We still need the existing mental healthcare systems to be bolstered further. We still need new programs and services to provide the additional capacity necessary to shift completely away from the jail and get us all the care we need after an incredibly challenging year. There is a long journey ahead until we’re all free and our families and communities are reunited.
In this budget cycle your work on the 10 to Transform campaign laid the foundation for action from the Board of County Commissioners. Over the next six months they have committed to a study of the County’s crisis response system and County 911 calls and mapping of existing resources and gaps. We’ll organize toward greater progress when they revisit the question of divesting from policing and investing in mental health and wellness in January or February, 2022.
The County Commissioners missed the present opportunity to decrease encounters with armed law enforcement or reallocate positions from the jail and increase access to mental health emergency response and public health. But the budget they approved last night has many other progressive investments that will make a big difference in strengthening and stabilizing our communities. Victories we’re celebrating in this year’s County budget include: the biggest investment we’ve ever seen in Durham Public Schools, including a massive Durham Association of Educators victory– school nurses and counselors for every school (first step towards a rollout over the next three years); the immigrant and refugee service coordinator position (jointly funded, City and County); the tax assistance grant program; Durham PreK expansion; workforce training initiatives through Durham Tech (including funding for stipends and social support for students); two additional positions for Racial Equity work, and an expansion of the Bull City United peer-to-peer violence interrupters outreach program.
Though Durham didn’t receive everything we hoped for, together we made serious gains that would not have been possible without joining forces. Through you volunteering in phone banking, we had over 700 conversations with Black people and people of color in Durham. Of those, over 70% supported the demands of the 10 to Transform Campaign at the end of the conversation. Your signatures on our letters made a difference– we were able to meet with City and County officials and share that we had 1,181 signatures calling for divestment from policing and investment in mental health and compassionate crisis response. Whether you spoke truth to power at public hearings, submitted written public comments, or showed up for public events (campaign kick off on April 27th and town hall with County and City electeds on May 20th) your contribution showed our collective strength and named our shared vision.
For years, Durham Beyond Policing and Durham For All have been in deep conversations with thousands of Black and POC residents of Durham, over the phone or at our neighbors’ doors. The 10 to Transform campaign grew out of these conversations with Durham residents, particularly Black and POC communities, who are tired of living in fear. We are invested in and committed to building a movement that fights for our collective liberation and everyone’s undeniable right to safety, care, and belonging.
During the 10 to Transform campaign, in our conversations with electeds we heard loud and clear that fear of rising gun violence in Durham is preventing some of them from feeling enthusiastic towards building alternatives to policing. We mourn and grieve devastating deaths due to gun violence in our communities. We take this grief seriously and rely on existing research and evidence in addressing such an important issue. The myth that the uptick in crime or gun violence can be addressed by increased policing runs counter to the evidence: Laura Cooper, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents police executives in the U.S. and Canada and compiles data across member cities, shared with The Daily Beast that their data shows violent crime increased in the first quarter of 2021, regardless of whether cities increased or decreased their police budgets.
Police and sheriff’s deputies do not prevent harm from occurring. While jails provide punishment and isolation from communities, they do not deter criminalized behavior. As put forth by crime experts at the University of Chicago and New York University, community institutions and care workers, such as public schools, libraries, recreation centers, social workers and therapists, are all associated with deterring criminalized behavior.
According to the Durham County Crisis Intervention Team, people suffering from mental health struggles often end up staying in Durham County Jail longer and more frequently than others. During a recent work session, Sheriff Birkhead described himself as Durham’s greatest mental health provider. If true, this is our collective failure. Therapeutic support and mental health crisis intervention must be available for Durham residents to access by calling mobile mental health care providers and gaining access to non-jailing facilities, rather than by calling the police or sheriff. We all deserve free or minimal cost access to high-quality mental healthcare as well as access to ongoing therapy and counseling in places that are safe and promote wellness, not punishment and disposability.
The most recent movement to divest from policing and invest in community care in Durham is now five years old. Every year since 2016, we have come forward to local governments with petitions, proposals, public comments and large-scale support for funding the institutions and resources that have a direct connection to public safety and wellness. We’ve made important strides together. We’ve established a Community Safety and Wellness Task Force connecting the city, county, and the public schools. We now have a Department of Safety and Wellness in our City government. We have increased investments in eviction diversion and ensured living wages for all city workers. The pandemic demonstrated more than anything the importance of mutual aid, mental healthcare, and care work to keep people alive and safe. We are asking you to help us build safety based on the model of our community institutions, not policing and jails.
We will continue listening to and inviting in poor and working class, Black and POC communities of Durham, honoring all the nuance, complexities, and beauty that our communities hold. As members of groups and organizations that supported and endorsed the Sheriff based on his progressive visions during his campaign, we will continue demanding transparency and justice.
