JULY 26, 2024 ARTS CONTEST GROUNDCOVER NEWS 7 Vote for your favorite mixed media piece and view submissions to the other three categories online at linktr.ee/groundcovernews Voting closes August 5! Terri Demar Scan to watch gif submission Norma Jean Cisneros Robbie February Hosea Hill SHERIFF from last page shooting at each other. That's literally what I work for. I work so that those mothers don't have to wake up and hear me telling them that their son had been murdered. So I would love to see that stuff [abolition] in the future. I think it's just about how we get there.” Magee: “The prison system is not the responsibility of the sheriff, as the sheriff is in charge of the jail. I believe a jail and a prison both have their own respective purpose. However, any incarceration system can be improved to facilitate the ultimate goal of rehabilitation. Example, literacy, teaching the trades, advancing education, all part of the rehabilitation process. The abolition of the incarceration system is not something I believe in, but continually assessing the desired outcomes and what research and analysis presents.” On Alternatives to Policing Dyer: “Beyond policing, we need to address the root causes of crime and focus on creating safe, supportive and stable communities. We also have to admit the effect over-policing has had on our community, disproportionately affecting Black residents in Washtenaw County. We must tackle the high racial disparities in our legal system, particularly involving youth. Investments at the neighborhood level, providing better support for young people, and addressing social determinants of health are crucial for building safe communities in addition to minimizing the harm caused by our local legal system. Criminalizing low-level offenses by using heavy-handed traffic enforcement tactics only exacerbates problems, especially for young people, and we must adopt more supportive and restorative approaches. “We will do our job as law enforcement to tackle more serious crimes but what we won’t do is criminalize whole neighborhoods by stopping people for petty reasons that aren’t related to safety concerns. We also need to make more evidence-based investments at the neighborhood level to increase safety, especially to reduce traffic fatalities. This is why I also heavily support traffic calming infrastructure.” (Author's note: I’m including the second paragraph because while I believe in a non-police society, there will still be a need for people to pay attention to safety issues. Like kittens, humans are frequently guilty of petty stupidity. As a result, we will need fire departments when a candle gets knocked over by a cat, or air lifts for the hiker who slipped and fell down a hole. We don’t need police, but we all need a little help from time to time.) Jackson: “I think we're trying to eliminate social ills in unhealthy communities, in general. I think that's what social work is about, right? It's about helping people not just deal with the crisis, but help them move from crisis to self-sustainability, to live healthy and thriving lives. Any neighborhood that is safe, is also well. And so police and social work go together because you can't have safe communities unless you have well communities. So that's literally how I think these two things really go together. “But I also think, if we were serious, even abolitionists, if we were really serious, we would be investing in communities that have been disinvested in for generations. Where I grew up, where I raised my family, those communities intentionally have been disinvested from. So if we're serious about it, it isn't only about these policy tweaks to policing. We've got to invest in our communities in very different ways.” Magee: “Great question! Outside of policing [there are] literacy projects.” Magee explains there is a connection between criminal behavior and literacy. “Opportunities can be provided for people who are returning citizens, such as housing, and employment, but these are outside of [the sheriff’s] function. “What would it take to abolish the police and have a society that polices itself should have happened two centuries ago. I don't see it. I believe that there will always be predators. Individuals violate the law for their own benefit.” Magee's approach to improving policing is by “thinking outside the badge,” not the box. Magee says this means “maintaining your true values to law enforcement. To protect and serve. It’s not just about reducing crime, it’s about the police force voicing our concerns about what we feel would make us safe and protected.” On Community-led Emergency Shelter Dyer: “I am committed to being a strong advocate for self-led community emergency shelters. As sheriff, I will work to ensure these shelters are safe and that we prevent over-policing in these spaces. My experience as a deputy has shown me the harsh reality of people turning themselves in on old warrants during winter months just to stay warm. We must do better by supporting investments in shelter and providing the necessary resources to keep people safe and housed. We also need to do better in our jail so when see SHERIFF page 11
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