For Immediate Release
Contact: Jonathon Marley, MPH, East Bay Community Law Center, 510-684-807, marley@ebclc.org
CA Assembly Has Urgent Opportunity to Advance Alternatives to Police:
Survivors of Police Violence, Community Organizers, and Advocates Call on Assembly Appropriations to Pass AB 2054 and Invest in Community-Based Solutions
C.R.I.S.E.S Act, AB 2054 Co-sponsor statement:
“From San Diego to Sacramento, Californians have taken to the streets to demand an end to police violence. The Assembly Appropriations Committee has an opportunity to act on the demands of millions of Californians and advance racial justice by supporting C.R.I.S.E.S. Act, AB 2054 (Kamlager), which invests in community-based responses to emergencies.
Community-based organizations (CBOs) have the expertise, relationships, trust, and local networks to best meet the needs of their community—saving countless lives. Policing has endangered and killed too many people who were in need of de-escalation and support—particularly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, and those experiencing a mental health crisis. For young Black men, police violence is a leading cause of death.[1] As many as half of all people killed by law enforcement in the U.S. have a disability[2]. And nearly all victims of use of force homicides are low income or no income—this response is rooted in the punishment of poverty and houselessness. To save lives and increase public safety, California must finally invest in public health responses rooted in the community.
Communities across California are frustrated and are sending a clear message: we must fund solutions that save lives. We call on the Legislature and the Governor to pass the C.R.I.S.E.S Act, AB 2054, and scale-up community-based responses to emergencies.”
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AB 2054 establishes the C.R.I.S.E.S. Act pilot grant program, promoting community-based responses to local emergency situations, including, but not limited to, situations related to: public health crisis, people experiencing homelessness, mental health crisis, intimate partner violence, community violence, substance use, and natural disasters.
CRISES Act Co-sponsors: Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ACLU of California, Anti Police-Terror Project, Berkeley Free Clinic, East Bay Community Law Center, Justice Teams Network, Oakland Power Projects, PolicyLink, Public Health Advocates, Stop Terrorism and Oppression by Police Coalition, UDW/AFSCME 3930, Youth Justice Coalition
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[1]https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-08-15/police-shootings-are-a-leading-cause-of-death-for-black-men
[2] https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/half-of-people-killed-by-police-in-the-us-may-have-a-disability/