Angela Davis on the argument for police and prison abolition

We need to ‘understand and get rid of the conditions that produce violence in individuals,’ says Angela Davis.

In recent years, calls for abolishing police and prisons in the United States have grown louder.

In the wake of what many view as failures by law enforcement and the US criminal legal system, people have been calling for an alternative approach, placing abolition at the centre of mainstream discourse on how to confront police brutality and systemic racism.

That approach must be both humane and encompass a bigger picture vision for dealing with crime and violence, says political activist and scholar, Angela Davis, who has been at the forefront of movements to abolish prisons and the police for decades.

But is abolition really possible? And what would take the place of prisons and police?

On an UpFront special interview, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with Angela Davis.

Source: aljazeera