by Maggie Joyce
What Does “ACAB” Mean?
ACAB is a saying commonly used by the Black Lives Matter movement, though it first originated during worker strikes in the 1940s. ACAB is an acronym, meaning “All Cops Are Bastards”. The use of the word “bastard” stems from the verb “bastardize," which means to change something to make it lower in value or quality. The term ACAB was not created to attack the character of each police officer. Rather, it targets the fact that every cop willingly joined a prejudiced system and continues to enforce bigoted ideologies every day they go to work. Oftentimes, the term is misread as “All Cops Are Bad," which takes away from the actual meaning of the phrase and makes it appear “derogatory” or “prejudiced." In actuality, the saying attacks the structure of the police system at its core.
How Did The Police Force Originate?
The police force began as slave patrol teams that caught slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. First recorded in the early 1700s in South Carolina, the slave patrol encouraged white volunteers to enforce slave related laws. Mostly, these volunteers captured escaped slaves and put down rebellions on plantations. Slave patrol squadrons spread around the country, and by the late 1790s, every state in which slavery was legal had them. All slave patrols were dissolved after the Civil War but continued through the enforcing of first the Black Codes, and later Jim Crow laws.
The first police force that was the precursor to modern law enforcement was established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1838. Many other cities, such as Albany and Chicago, were quick to follow suit. These police forces were made up of almost all white men and were less inclined to enforcing laws than to stopping “disorder” in the city. The police had a reputation for targeting minorities, specifically people of color and the poor in their communities. Any African-Americans in the force faced heavy discrimination in the workplace and were typically only assigned to other black communities.
How Does The Police Force Perpetuate Bigotry?
Because of its oppressive history, the police force continues to perpetuate racism in its communities. For example, 999 people were shot and killed by cops in the United States last year. 25% of these shooting victims were black, even though only 13% of the U.S. population is African-American. 99% of all police killings do not result in charges brought against the officers. Qualified immunity gives this officers immunity from civil lawsuits, so they can only be brought to justice through the police. It is unspoken law in the police community that an officer will not report another officer for their crimes. Similarly, black people are more likely to receive harsher sentences in the court of law. Brock Turner is a white man who raped an unconscious girl behind a dumpster. He was charged with six months of jail time, but only served three. Albert Wilson is a black man who was arrested for making out with a white 17-year-old girl at a 21+ bar. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Racism in law enforcement is a pervasive issue in the United States.
Sexism is also prominent in the police force. In 34 states, it is legal for a police officer to rape any detainee. If the detainee claims that she was raped, qualified immunity allows the officer to say that she is lying to avoid a case being brought against him. Furthermore, many cops are domestic abusers. 40% of police officer families report that they have been abused, which is four times as much as the general population. Of course, these cases go uninvestigated.
Lastly, the police force continues to maintain homophobia and transphobia in our society. The first pride was a riot against police brutality, yet the system has not changed since the days of Stonewall. Transgender women of color are murdered at a much higher rate than the average citizen, and their deaths go uninvestigated. Four out of five anti-trans homicides are against trans women of color. The crisis against trans women is an epidemic of violence in this country.
While racism is at the forefront of the ACAB movement, and rightly so, these issues affect almost every marginalized minority. The police force is an oppressor in this country, and it needs to change. Who is there to call if the cop is the one committing rape or assault? What can be done when the officer is in the wrong? The police are supposed to protect everyone in this country, and yet they seem to only protect themselves.
What Can Be Done To Fix It?
There are many solutions to this problem, ranging from small adjustments to large-scale demolition of the system. In order from least to most radical, here are some ways to solve the police force issue:
More Training: Police officers are severely undertrained. At maximum, applicants must complete 880 hours of training. An electrician must complete almost five times that amount. Also, in 34 states, no de-escalation training is required. In six more, no minimum amount of hours is set, so police officers can technically avoid training. The most a police officer must receive in de-escalation training is four hours per year. This is not nearly enough training to equip someone with a gun and allow them to enforce law however they see fit. De-escalation training should be a federal requirement, so most police encounters do not even reach the need for a weapon.
Defunding the Police: The police force takes in billions of dollars yearly. The budget for the force in New York City was 5.61 billion dollars. In 2017, $115 billion was spent countrywide. By defunding the police, funds could be reallocated to affordable housing, job training, education, social programs, mental health counseling, and drug treatment centers. Police are not effective in solving problems that these projects specialize in, such as drug abuse and homelessness. By putting money towards these programs, tax dollars stop going to the racist parts of policing, and public health is prioritized over keeping “order”.
Abolishing the Police: Due to the inherently racist past of the police force, many believe that doing away with the police entirely is the only solution. The police force is not worth fixing, as it is performing how it was intended to when it was created: to maintain "peace" by targeting minorities. Abolishing the police does not mean that the police as we know it will be gone forever. Rather, the force would be significantly smaller and would respond specifically to armed and dangerous criminals. In situations where the police would only escalate the issue, such as homelessness calls, domestic abuse, and drug-related instances, social workers with de-escalation training would be deployed. EMTs would also serve the community to protect public health instead of the police.
The police are being asked to handle too much. No one person should have to be skilled in everything from de-escalation to drug abuse to murder investigations, especially in a bigoted system that does not truly aim to help the community. Not every police officer is a bad person.
However, every cop took a job that has a prejudiced history and is prejudiced to this day. Hopefully, someday cops will not have to feel guilt for a system they cannot change; for now, ACAB.
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