DEFUND PHOENIX PD EMAIL SCRIPT

Phoenix residents, send the script below to the following:

Hello [ADDRESSEE],

I am contacting you to reconsider the $944,680,555 allocated for our public safety department for the 2020-21 fiscal year, and instead increase the proposed $24,760,742 and $26,837,014 budgets for community development and enrichment. I also demand that Phoenix PD stop working with ICE.

I am a Phoenix constituent who cares deeply about ending violence in our communities. The City of Phoenix needs and deserves policing alternatives and investments in mental health and trauma services, education and after-school care, adequate housing, healthcare, and employment.

Civilian Oversight of the Phoenix PD is estimated to receive only $400,000 in funding this next year. In contrast, the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) and Civilian Review Board (CRB) will cost an anticipated $3 million. Ending police brutality should be a budget priority. Justice should be a budget priority. This area needs to be fully funded.

Additionally, any funding provided to the Phoenix Police Department should be contingent on increased transparency and accountability.

Lastly, I request that School Resource Officers in public schools be defunded until accountability and training can be adequately ensured. There is no clear evidence that having an SRO present makes our schools any safer. In fact, current research suggests an increase in arrest rates, especially for black students and students of color, in schools that have an SRO on campus. Schools with higher rates of Black and Latino students have a higher police presence and higher rates of arrests for similar offenses that would not be legally prosecuted on other campuses. These patterns perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline in our state and need to be ended now. Our students need to learn alternative skills, rather than experiencing ineffective punishment. Fund social work, counseling, unemployment, and disability resources instead of policing in schools.  

If we can shift our funding to preventative efforts and support measurable outcomes, Phoenix stands a better chance for long-term improvement and sustainability.

Thank you so much for your help.

[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR PHX ZIP CODE]