Cohousing-L Mailing List: Police policies

[Grace Kim (grace]

>> I?m curious if any of you have policies/guidelines/agreements/rules around 
>> people calling the police?

Maggie - as you noted there are many views about trusting police as outside 
authority figures.

For white people, police are "defenders of peace" there to "serve and protect". 
But for many people of color (particularly Black, Brown, and Indigenous 
people), police are often feared and assumed to protecting others, not them.

While we don't have a policy per se, Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing is a very 
urban community located 1 block from the infamous "CHOP" or "CHAZ".  We have 
had a number of instances over the past 5 years where we had concerns over 
trespassers, thefts, homeless individuals sleeping in our doorways/emergency 
exit routes - and last year tear gas, flash bombs, and shootings (much of which 
was instigated by police).  And while some residents initially thought that 
calling the police was the right thing to do (in case of theft), many pointed 
out the inequities and unintended consequences of calling police for simple 
trespass or sleeping in doorways.

While we want to keep all of our residents (particularly our small children) 
safe, we have acknowledged that police are not the right "call" for all 
instances of "safety and security".  It is still a work in progress, but we are 
doing more with signage (to deter trespassing/notify about security cameras), 
and contacting social service providers/intervention specialists and referring 
people to neighborhood resources (service providers who can offer shelter, 
food, clothing) rather than assuming the police should be the obvious first 
responders.


Reminder to those responding about doing cohousing skits: please change subject 
line to "skits" or something other than police policies.


grace h. kim faia | schemata workshop, inc.
principal
pronouns: she/her

1720 12th avenue
seattle wa 98122
p 206.285.1589   c 206.795.2470
schemataworkshop.com<http://www.schemataworkshop.com/>

Watch my TED talk at 
TED.com<https://www.ted.com/talks/grace_kim_how_cohousing_can_make_us_happier_and_live_longer>