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Public Health is a Strategy for Abolition Fighting for Healthy and Safe Communities Policing Harms Public Health: the APHA Statement While public safety is essential for public health, as a society we have delegated this important function almost exclusively to law enforcement. Evidence of continued law enforcement violence shows that U.S. policing has failed to equitably deliver safety, plac- ing an inequitable burden of mental and physical harm on socially and economically marginalized populations [134]. from 'Addressing Law Enforcement Violence as a Public Health Issue;' 2018 American Public Health Association policy statement Policing is a public health issue. After three years of organizing, a national public health coalition led the 25,000-member strong American Public Health Association (APHA) in November to pass a policy statement stating that the violence of policing is a public health issue. The policy advocates for decriminalization measures, investment in public health resources to address public health and social concerns, and alternatives to policing. The implica- tions of the statement's passing are wide -reaching; not only are APHA policy statements a mandate to the association's lobbying bodies to align their work with the statement's recommendations, the passage by this large, diverse body of public health workers reflects a clear commitment to a fundamental shift in the practice of public health work away from reformist measures and towards structural, root -level changes to the harms policing (and, by exten- sion, prisons) cause to the health of our communities. This national collective included health workers, educators, and anti -policing organizers from Critical Resistance (CR) and the Public Health Justice Collective (PHJC). We are bringing this statement back into movements fighting to eliminate the violence of policing and build up community health. The policy outlines concrete Action Steps to reduce the violence of policing. In your work, you can put these to use in your planning or in setting your strategic demands of institutions and officials by framing ideas through them: "The APHA recommends [action step] to reduce the negative public health impacts of policing, therefore we must..:' This pamphlet shares ideas about the action steps, orga- nizing talking points, and a worksheet for implementing the APHA statement where you are. Check out and share media coverage on the Ending Police Violence website (see sidebar)! Bring this worksheet to your community groups and organizations to learn about this win and to put it to use in your campaigns! Toward liberation! Critical Resistance Oakland and the Public Health Justice Collective Articles and other resources * Read the statement in full and access media from Filter Mag, Rewire, The Guardian, and others: end i ngpoliceviolence.com See Critical Resistance's summary of the statement and policy victory, on Black Agenda Report: blackagendareport.com/national- abolitionist-victory-public-health * Check out Oakland Power Projects, an alternatives to policing project of CR Oakland, including a Know Your Options health initiative: Oakland PowerProjects.org Contact us! Critical Resistance criticalresistance.org * 510-444-0484 croakland@criticalresistance.org Public Health Justice Collective facebook.com/groups/ publichealthjusticecollective/ APHA Policy Statement team endingpoliceviolence.com/contact-us/