safety

Reimagining Safety: A Community-Driven Approach​

For too long, when Akronites and Americans think of safety, our minds default to traditional emergency services like police and fire departments. However, the experiences of our communities—marked by instances of police brutality, deaths at the hands of law enforcement, and a mass incarceration crisis that has resulted in a higher number of incarcerated individuals today than the number of enslaved people in the 1800s—have made it clear: the conventional approach to safety is not serving the average American.

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The Freedom BLOC believes that true safety lies within the strength and well-being of our community itself. Over the next two years, we will embark on a crucial journey alongside the residents of Akron to collectively define what safety truly means. Our city, like many others, can no longer sustain the disproportionate allocation of taxpayer dollars to a system that has not demonstrably ensured the safety and well-being of all its members.

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We aim to critically examine the very definitions of "safety" and "crime." What constitutes a threat to our community? Is it the individual working diligently for 40 hours a week who feels compelled to take necessities from a store to feed their family? Or is the true injustice the systemic failure that allows someone working full-time to remain unable to afford basic sustenance? How does our current model of safety address these fundamental issues?

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SAFETY CAMPAIGN PLANNING 2025​

Purpose: To cultivate a shared, community-driven understanding of safety and to collaboratively develop a safety plan that emphasizes collective action and shared responsibility.

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Desired Outcomes:

• Expand the Definition of Safety: To move beyond a solely law enforcement-centric view and embrace a holistic understanding that encompasses social, economic, and environmental well-being.

• Deepen Community Engagement: To actively involve residents in the process of defining safety and shaping solutions.

• Cultivate Community Leaders: To identify, support, and empower individuals within the community to champion safety initiatives.

• Shift the Narrative on Safety: To foster a public discourse that recognizes the limitations of current policing models and highlights the importance of community-led solutions.