The United States has the largest police force in the world, with funding that exceeds most major nations' militaries. The U.S. also incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with Louisiana leading U.S. states with most people incarcerated per capita. How did we get here? What does policing have to do with power, safety and control? What reforms have been tried and how did they work? In what ways have people resisted state repression and violence at the hands of police? What can we learn from the past in order to create peace, justice and wellbeing in the future? 

This workshop is designed to help participants explore the history and origins of policing in the United States through an abolitionist framework.