FedUpNL
#DefundPolice and #InvestInCommunity
The New London Police department’s budget is $10,000,000. That is more than Public Works, the Recreation Department, Health, the Public Library, Human Services, and the Senior Center combined.
Only a small percentage of calls responded to by police are regarding a violent offense. Studies suggest that “anywhere from 5-20% of all police incidents involve a person with a mental illness, and that these incidents take longer to resolve and are more likely to result in arrest.” Our money would be much better invested in a multilingual team of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian social workers and mental health practitioners, trained in anti-black racism who are able to respond to community needs and conflicts.
Our Official Demands
The FedUpNL Coalition call on Mayor Michael Passero, New London City Councilors: Alma Nartatez, Kevin Booker, Curtis Goodwin, Reona Dyess, Efrain Dominguez, John Satti, and James Burke and the New London Board of Education to act immediately and meet the needs of the people in New London who elected them.
Here are the clear actions
the elected officials should take:
Our Demands
We DEMAND that 35% of the New London (NL) Public Police Department 2020 Budget be invested into services that support NL residents who are Black, Brown, and poor
We DEMAND an additional $1million be immediately reallocated from NL Police Department 2020 budget to NL Public Schools
We DEMAND that NL Public Schools immediately sever their relationship with the NL Police Department
We Demand that NL Police Department demilitarize immediately
We DEMAND that community members have oversight on the Police Union Contract
We DEMAND that NL Police Community Relations Committee be abolished and replaced with an Independent Community Police Review Board
We DEMAND the removal of the Colombo statue at the intersection of Howard and Bank St. (We did this one!)
Our Research
The time is now to redesign our institutions in ways that center principles of anti-racism and anti-poverty so that they are infused with the value of freedom for Black people, Indigenous people, Latinx people, Asian people, and poor people of all races.
The good news? Hearing Youth Voices has already been working on redesigning our public schools. In 2019, we released Schools that Work for Us, a framework based on 6 years of Hearing Youth Voices research and data that had been collected via surveys, interviews, and hundreds of youth meetings since 2012. Organized around 8 themes- Mental Health, Relationships, Freedom to be and to Move, Full Safety, Teaching and Learning, Collective Power, The Struggle, and Resources- it’s a guide that we can all use as we dig into the necessary work of re-designing our society’s institutions so that they are infused with anti-racist and anti-poverty policies and practices. Schools that Work for Us includes the removal of police from schools, an issue that we are currently actively working on.
Our money would be much better invested in job training programs- in public works, education, mental health, recreation- for Black, immigrant, and poor residents of our community. Our money would be much better invested in programs to help people who have systematically been excluded from the opportunity to buy homes and build wealth, begin to create it. New London, it is now time for everyone to come together and help make this vision a reality, the time is now to get to work.
Take Action
Demand Action from your elected officials. Under extreme pressure, we have seen elected officials beginning to enact legislation focused on addressing police violence.
More comprehensive action is needed. Please click on the link below to send an email to Mayor Michael Passero, and New London City Councilors Alma Nartatez, Kevin Booker, Curtis Goodwin, Reona Dyess, Efrain Dominguez, John Satti, and James Burke to authorize a reduction in the New London Police Department and invest that money in services and supports that our community truly needs.
Email the Mayor and City Council →
Scroll to the bottom to PUT YOUR name where it says: {type your name here}
Demand Action from Your Representatives
Lookup your state and federal representatives and tell them to pass the legislation immediately to end police violence.
Sign our petition →
Sign our FedUpNL Petition with our list of demands.
Get email alerts from us →
For Youth & Adults.
YOUTH ONLY →
(This is for Youth only because it connects to our Airtable list which is just for Youth.
Are you an organization in the New London County area? →
Fill out our Google Form to support the initiative to #DefundPolice and #InvestInCommunity
Support our campaign
Social Media Hashtags and tweets
#FedUpNL #SpeakUpNL
It is time to join @Mvmnt4BlkLives call to #DefundPolice. #FedUpNL! I am joining @hearing_youth_voices to educate my community on alternative emergency services that can intervene in conflict and crises in a way that affirms the basic humanity of all people. #StandUpNL
I am proud to stand in solidarity with the @hearing_youth_voices. Police violence, systemic racism, and white supremacy must be stopped in all its forms. I am joining @hearing_youth_voices support to #DefundPolice and #DefendBlackLife. #FedUpNL #StandUpNL