Putting Up a Defund the Police Sign
Thank you for taking a stand against policing and letting your community know that you believe the over 1.2 billion dollars spent yearly on policing in Toronto can be put to better use providing support and care to meet our communities needs. Your stance is an important one unfortunately, it can make you a target for harassment, intimidation, and possibly vandalization. We would like to share a few tips with you to help you keep safe and handle conflicts that may arise.
Connect with the community.
Speak to the people in your life about why you support decreasing the amount of money spent yearly on policing and allocating those funds to services that will meet peoples needs. Build community and support systems with people that make you feel safe!
Reach out to others in your neighbourhood about putting up signs. Additional signs near your home may help make you less of an individual target.
Connect with organizations and groups in your neighbourhood, including the SURJ group organizing in your area!
Think ahead.
Sometimes peoples aggressive response to the movement for Defunding the Police is based on far-right ideology. The forceful suppression of opposing views is a fascist response, and can be referred to as “White Backlash”. It’s important to always assess your situation before you react, and learn how to disengage from confrontations that could be putting your safety at risk.
Do you feel prepared to de-escalate aggressive confrontations from people with opposing political views? Read about some steps you can take in Beautiful Trouble’s - Assertive Intervention De-Escalation Tools & Tips.
What will you do if vandalism occurs or you feel threatened, intimidated or harassed? What friend or network will you reach out to? Talk to them before it happens so they can know they are your support system.
Don't call or report incidents to the police.
Calling the police could potentially put yourself or those in your community in danger. Defunding the Police is part of a broad movement to rethink community safety. What makes you feel safe and how can you start building towards that instead?
In need of support or want to get more involved? Reach out and connect with our campaign team: surjto.campaigns@gmail.com
Reflections for white and systemically privileged supporters:
“Sometimes, white activists and organizations do not take these protocols seriously because our privilege has shielded us from the most vicious and stealthy tactics of the state. It’s very important that white activists and organizations are not a “weak link” in security practices...”
“Even when targeting activists, the state often treats white people differently than people of color. As anti-imperialist political prisoner Marilyn Buck put it, “in terms of dealing with white people, the state thinks we can always come home to them again.” - Catalyst Project’s “A Trouble Maker’s Guide”