Abolition Zine Resource Page
References
Statistics on Racial Disparities: Sentencing Project, The Vera Institute, MacArthur Foundation
U.S. Ranking in Incarceration Rates vs. The World: Prison Policy Initiative
Incarceration Rates in Colorado by Geography (heatmaps), including breakdowns by ZIP codes
The private contractor families blame for deaths in El Paso County CJC
Suicide and mental health disparities in El Paso County CJC
The complete list of CJC deaths in 2022
The growth of jails in the U.S. - and how they are harming our communities
A Reuter’s investigative report on deaths in jails nationwide
66% of the people who died in jails from 2009-2019 were awaiting trial - meaning they were never convicted of a crime
How for-profit “community corrections” facilities set parolees up for failure and contribute to high recidivism
Report on recidivism rates state-by-state
Out of Reach Colorado Housing Prices (report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition)
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in jails & prisons*
Mental illness in jails and prisons nationwide
The mental health impacts of incarceration
*The original ACE study was racist. Check out this resource instead.
Police Brutality in Colorado Springs
De’Von Bailey murdered by CSPD after being stopped for a false report
CSPD murders a 63-year-old man having a mental health crisis
CSPD Excessive force against a 17-year-old girl
CSPD Excessive force and violent language against Colorado Springs Black Lives Matter protestors in summer 2020
Club Q
The Club Q shooter’s 2021 terrorism
How the D.A. and Judge failed to prevent the shooting at Club Q
Low enforcement of red flag laws in Colorado
Preliminary Hearings that presented evidence against Aldrich, including evidence that the shooting was bias-motivated
The Receipts
Reporting on CSPD’s infiltration and surveillance of leftist organizations in Southeast Colorado Springs
Reporting on attempts by CSPD and the FBI to entrap leftists
CSPD Body camera footage of cops discussing beating Colorado Springs Housing for All protestors
The Alphabet Boys podcast series on how the FBI planted a sex offender in the Denver BLM movement to surveil, incite violence, & entrap leftists (with an episode on surveillance and attempts at entrapment in Colorado Springs)
Community Alternatives to Public Safety
CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) is a Eugene, Oregon-based street clinic that intervenes in mental health crises without the presence of law enforcement. They receive funding as an alternative to policing and have saved the city millions of dollars.
STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) Program is a response program in Denver that sends trauma-informed behavioral health professionals to respond to community crises related to mental health, homelessness, substance use, and more without the assistance of police. They have reduced the number of arrests and improved community well-being since their beginnings in 2020.
Colorado HB17-1326 was a two-part bill that created parole reform by reducing the amount of time a person could be reincarcerated for a technical parole violation. The second part of the bill redirected $4 million in savings from the parole reform into a program called Transforming Safety , which provides grants to community organizations in North Aurora and Southeast Colorado Springs — two communities that are overpoliced and disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration — for creating crime prevention programs.
Work and Gain Education and Employment Skills (WAGEES) is a program to support people reentering society from incarceration by using Colorado Department of Corrections funds to allow community organizations to provide job skills training and assist with employment placement. This program has been so successful at reducing recidivism and helping people transition back into community that it has received increased funding and been set for renewal in legislative sunset reviews.
The Gathering Place in Denver provides free supportive, wrap-around services to women, children, and transgender people struggling with poverty in the Denver area. They provide housing assistance, food assistance, education and job training, healthcare, and mental health services.
Liberatory Harm Reduction is a philosophy that centers freedom of choice and treatment for those who use substances if they want it. Colorado has several harm reduction programs that offer clean syringes, overdose prevention education, and Narcan distribution to help people stay safer as opposed to using incarceration to punish substance use. However, many of these programs operate under a public health model rather than a liberatory model. Check out the link to learn more about the difference and why we need more programming that works under a liberatory harm reduction model.
One Million Experiments is a project that shares stories of community projects that redefine safety and explore alternatives to community-based public safety.
Interrupting Criminalization is a resource organization that provides a platform for programs and ideas around alternatives to policing and incarceration. They also coordinate between organizations to help build bigger campaigns for abolition work.
Do No Harm is a philosophy and guide for healthcare professionals to commit to serving clients while refusing to cooperate with the process of criminalizing and incarcerating them.
What is Transformative Justice?
Abolition Reading List
We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba
Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Beth Richie, and Erica Meiners
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
The End of Policing by Alex Vitale
Saving Our Own Lives: Liberatory Harm Reduction by Shira Hassan
Ready to join the fight against mass incarceration and police brutality? Join DSA!
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