Event Information
“In efforts to reduce the footprint of law enforcement, we need to bring a very intentional equity lens to that effort. Otherwise, the disparities may persist or they may deepen.” — LIZ SWAVOLA
Law enforcement responds to the 240 million calls received by 911 centers every year. However, community members are often seeking help for problems that aren’t solved (and may be exacerbated) by the criminal legal system. Alternative solutions, such as civilian responder programs, are demonstrating their effectiveness at meeting people’s needs, and have the potential to address racial inequities at the entry point to the criminal legal system.
In this 30-minute conversation, we discussed the imperative of equitable alternatives to 911 and the locally-driven solutions emerging around the country.
Speakers
Meghan is driven by a passion for building community wellness and dismantling structures of oppression. Over the past 17 years, she has worked on a broad range of national, state and local training and technical assistance initiatives that critically examine and improve the way public systems function—most recently helping local coalitions and jurisdictions develop antiracist solutions for pretrial policies and practices.
Tenille’s work at PJI is part of a lifelong mission to create safe, nurturing workplaces for people representing diversity of thought, lived experience, gender, race and ethnicity. A CPA by trade, she transitioned to the nonprofit field to align with her spirit of advocacy and social justice. She has spent the last ten years as an executive leader, helping to drive transformational change in nonprofit organizations, including the Center for Urban Families and PJI.
At the Center for Policing Equity, Liz partners with communities and government stakeholders to redesign public safety. Before joining CPE, Liz was Director of the Jail Decarceration Team at the Vera Institute of Justice, leading a team of researchers and policy experts collaborating with communities to end mass incarceration at the municipal and county level.
Resources
What If: 10 Questions for Sparking Local Pretrial Change
These ten questions — along with a discussion guide and valuable tools and resources — examine the issue by reframing safety and community wellness.