240 million times a year, someone calls 9-1-1. However, for Black communities, making that call can be fatal! But what else are you supposed to do in an emergency?
Turns out, police actually don’t HAVE to answer every emergency. 9-1-1 alternatives exist – and might be better options in the following circumstances.
Mental Health Crisis
25% of people killed by police have a known mental illness. If you’re suicidal, you shouldn’t have to worry about “help” killing you! Mental health organizations like St. Louis’ NAMI hotline or LA’s Psychiatric Mobile Response Team can step in instead.
Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
People struggle to call 911 when sexual misconduct is common within police departments, and partners of police officers suffer domestic violence at high rates. But options such as NYC’s multilingual Safe Horizon hotline and Minneapolis’ Tubman organization can help instead.
Violent Crime
Police don’t prevent violent crime - they just show up after it happens. They only spend 4% of their time addressing violence anyway! Truly reducing crime means ending poverty, better gun regulations, and more. But until then, there are safer options like DC’s Network for Victim Recovery.
Police aren’t taking care of us, so we can decide to divest from them and build better, safer options for emergency response. That’s the future we deserve. Browse alternatives in your city at: https://dontcallthepolice.com.