Defund: Black Lives, Policing, and Safety for All

A fiercely-argued, deeply-informed examination of why defunding the police is the only way to support a model of security and protection that increases public safety overall

Time and again history has watched as police respond to minor calls with escalation, wrongful arrests, and even murder. Reform programs are often poorly implemented and their impacts short-lived. Calls to "defund the police" have rung out across the nation, yet the actual meaning of the phrase remains unclear to many. In Defund, longtime activist and founder of Black Lives Matter Canada Sandy Hudson elucidates what it actually means to "defund the police" and why it matters, by exploring today's criminal landscape, and the patterns and structures that result in safer, well-resourced communities.

Hudson explores the origins of commonly held ideas about police and safety to show how police-related social policies are based more on a sensationalized idea of safety, than on outcomes and data. Through interviews and sociological research, she demonstrates, for instance, that law enforcement solve only a small number of the crimes that they are tasked to investigate, and even the process of assigning cases depends more on optics than large-scale crime reduction. Conversely, safe neighborhoods, rather than featuring an increased police presence, are rich in resources and social programs.

After laying out the history and data behind our broken policing system, Hudson paves a clear path forward by exploring how communities can save both money and lives by investing in themselves rather than in policing. She shows how simple changes to educational resources, community centers, and civic engagement can not only make communities safer, but also better able to provide for their citizens in countless ways. Clear-eyed and hopeful yet pragmatic, Defund is the key to understanding why a future without police is not only entirely possible, but necessary.

Author: Sandy Hudson
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 04/01/2025
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9780593700815

About the Author
Sandy Hudson is a multidisciplinary creative, writer, and activist and the founder of the Black Lives Matter Canada. Sandy also co-founded the Black Legal Action Centre, a specialty legal aid clinic, which provides direct legal services and test case litigation for Black communities in Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Toronto Star, and the Huffington Post, among others. Sandy holds a JD from the UCLA School of Law and a Master of Arts in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. She also co-hosts the podcast Sandy and Nora Talk Politics, and is co-author of the best-selling anthology, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada. Sandy is currently based in Los Angeles and is co-Executive Producer of the eight-part CBC documentary series Black Life: Untold Stories, an official selection of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.