Policing Pain Policing Pain
It’s been estimated that half of the people shot and killed by police officers in the United States have some type of mental-health problem. James Boyd was killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a five-hour negotiation with police, who were trying to get the homeless man to leave his illegal campsite. Boyd had only two small camping knives, but he was shot in the back after the officers set off a stun grenade. When they aren’t killing people with mental-health issues, the police are arresting them, a harrowing and harmful experience in its own right. “Jails are the number one mental-health facilities across the country,” San Antonio Police Officer Joe Smarro explains in a new video series about overcriminalization, which launches at TheNation.com on October 9. Produced by Brave New Films in partnership with the ACLU, the series explores alternatives to the criminalization of social problems like mental illness, homelessness and addiction. Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50! There’s a long history in America of imprisoning vulnerable populations. The criminalizing of homelessness harks back to the days after Reconstruction, when outdated vagrancy laws were suddenly applied to the newly freed black population. The “black codes” targeted formerly enslaved people, who were arrested for violations such as lacking proof of employment. They were then sent to prisons that had sprung up on former plantations, effectively re-enslaving them. This legacy carries on through stop-and-frisk policies and discriminatory immigration enforcement measures. Such policies criminalize everyday behavior, are enforced in a racist fashion, and designate police officers as the first and only solution to society’s problems. That’s why this series is not just about describing the problem, but about how you can take action. These videos focus on innovative and cost-effective solutions that actually improve people’s lives, making us less dependent on prisons and policing to address problems that are far too complex to be beaten into submission. Read Next: Steven Hsieh on the mentally ill veteran who “baked to death” at Rikers
Oct 8, 2014 / Mychal Denzel Smith
What’s Wrong With Comparing ISIS to a Disease What’s Wrong With Comparing ISIS to a Disease
While the Obama administration used cancer metaphors to sell a war, it ignored the spread of a real disease.
Oct 8, 2014 / Column / Richard Kim
Don’t Fall for the GOP’s Over-the-Counter Contraception Racket Don’t Fall for the GOP’s Over-the-Counter Contraception Racket
Calls for the pill to be available without a prescription are just naked attempts to woo female voters and mask opposition to the Obamacare birth control mandate.
Oct 2, 2014 / Zoë Carpenter
Is ‘Big Data’ Actually Reinforcing Social Inequalities? Is ‘Big Data’ Actually Reinforcing Social Inequalities?
An increasingly technologized world makes life easier… for some people, anyway.
Sep 29, 2014 / Michelle Chen
Why Are We Sending Soldiers Trained for War to Respond to the Ebola Crisis? Why Are We Sending Soldiers Trained for War to Respond to the Ebola Crisis?
Few would oppose a robust US response to Ebola, but the Obama administration's deployment of 3,000 troops to Liberia comes amid a broader US-led militarization in West Africa.
Sep 25, 2014 / Joeva Rock and Foreign Policy In Focus
Is Corporal Punishment a Form of Domestic Violence? Is Corporal Punishment a Form of Domestic Violence?
Americans widely accept the use of corporal punishment, but its effects are damaging.
Sep 23, 2014 / Melissa Harris-Perry
How the Koch Network Exploited the Veterans Affairs Crisis How the Koch Network Exploited the Veterans Affairs Crisis
From the beginning, the Koch brothers were exploiting troubles at VA hospitals to weaken Obamacare and attack Democrats.
Sep 23, 2014 / George Zornick
San Francisco Rejects ‘Racial Profiling in the Doctor’s Office’ San Francisco Rejects ‘Racial Profiling in the Doctor’s Office’
The city becomes the first in the nation to say 'no' to bans on sex-selective abortions.
Sep 19, 2014 / Dani McClain
Why Aren’t the Health Workers Fighting West Africa’s Ebola Epidemic Being Given Basic Protective Gear? Why Aren’t the Health Workers Fighting West Africa’s Ebola Epidemic Being Given Basic Protective Gear?
The failure to protect workers is worsening an already dire public health crisis.
Sep 19, 2014 / Michelle Chen
Why Liberians Thought Ebola Was a Government Scam to Attract Western Aid Why Liberians Thought Ebola Was a Government Scam to Attract Western Aid
Decades of corruption have left Liberians suspicious of their government.
Sep 16, 2014 / Sara Jerving