NORTHAMPTON – Northampton Abolition Now is an organization that came together in the wake of protests against police brutality toward the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community seeking to create a department of community care and to cut the Northampton Police Department’s budget.

One of Northampton Abolition Now’s organizers, Ashwin Ravikumar, said while the organization came out of that larger movement, they have long-term goals and are following other larger groups in the movement to support Black lives.

“Northampton Abolition Now emerged from the uprising in defense of Black lives during the summer of 2020. It came together as a longer-term organizing group inspired by and following the leadership of Black-led movements like the movement for Black lives and critical resistance,” he said.

Ravikumar added that the organization is all volunteers with a core group of about 12 organizers.

“We are an all-volunteer group of community organizers. There is a core group of about a dozen or so that is pretty active, and there are many more who plug into various aspects of the work here and there,” he said.

One of the organization’s biggest pushes is to establish a department of community care for fiscal year 2022.

“Right now, we are organizing to push the mayor and City Council to establish this fiscal year a new department of community care led by people who have been most impacted by policing that will build and deploy peer-led non-police mobile crisis response systems. We are also pushing for Northampton to immediately move a number of core functions that police currently carry out outside of the police,” he said.

Along with establishing a department of community care, Ravikumar said Northampton Abolition Now is also working to defund the Northampton Police Department’s budget by 50 percent.

“The reason that we pushed for divesting from policing and investing into community care is because policing has rotten, racist roots. Policing cannot be reformed; the only way to eliminate racism in policing is to reduce the footprint of the police. What this does is liberate resources that we can use in non-policing resources, so that means peer-led, non-coercive solutions outside of the police,” he said.

Ravikumar added that Northampton Abolition Now’s goals also align with some of the findings from the Northampton Policing Review Commission’s (NPRC) final report’s findings.

“Many of these demands are consistent with and echo the Northampton Policing Review Commission’s report that came out a month ago. Overall, we commend the commission for putting out a report that calls upon the city to reduce the size, scope, and power of the police, and to establish that department of community care,” he said.

Based on the NPRC’s report, Ravikumar said a 50 percent cut is a good short-term plan.

“Given what the report suggests, a 50 percent reduction is a reasonable short-term demand, with a long-term goal to create a community that does not have policing at all,” he said.

Despite budget deadlines looming, Ravikumar said it is possible to meet the organization’s demands for FY22.

“We know it is possible and the mayor is capable of defunding the police by 50 percent, creating a new department of community care, and reallocating the funds that were cut last year from the Police Department to community needs today. We know this because other cities across the country have made really big changes on similar timelines,” he said.

With Mayor David Narkewicz sending his draft budget to City Council on May 18 for review, Ravikumar said now is the time for people to voice their concerns about the budget.

“The mayor will be releasing his draft budget on May 18, and the City Council will be voting to approve or amend it by late June. So, this is a critical window for people in Northampton to call upon their officials to demand a department of community care and a 50 percent cut to the Police Department,” he said.

“The time is now to take action and we have a big opportunity ahead of us,” he added.