Abolish ACPD: It’s Time to Try Something New

This week, the Town of Amherst’s Community Safety Working Group has revealed some of the items requested in its proposal for the future of policing in the town, to be decided on in an upcoming May 3 Town Council budget meeting. It proposes [https://www.gazettenet.com/Community-responders-team-sought-in-Amherst-budget-40131259] slashing the $5.15 million Amherst Police Department (APD) budget in order to fund a separate $2.2 million Community Response for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS) prog

Letter to the Editor: Reframing the Campus Safety Conversation

As tempers flare on campus and the rhetoric heats up, it’s easy to forget how far our community already has come in the debate about campus policing and the many constructive ideas that students and staff have floated. Faculty members have a responsibility now to help these deliberations move forward in a thoughtful, inclusive manner, and I hope we will rise to that challenge. We are indebted to the Black Student Union and their allies within the Association of Amherst Students for demanding th

“Disarm ACPD”: The Association of Amherst Students’ Position on Campus Public Safety

On Monday, March 29, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety John Carter attended the public safety town hall [https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/aas/senate/aasminutes/spring-2021] hosted by the Association of Amherst Students (AAS). This meeting occurred on the first day of Derek Chauvin’s trial for the killing of George Floyd. It has been nearly a year since last summer’s uprisings and nearly as long since the college verbally committed to anti-racism. The goal of anti-racist work and a

ACPD Reduces Reliance on Armed Officers, but Refuses Demands to Disarm

As part of its commitment to the Reclaim Amherst Campaign, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) held a town hall [https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/AAS%2520Senate%2520Notes%2520March%252029%252C%25202021.pdf] with Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety John Carter regarding the state of the Amherst College Police Department (ACPD) and campus operations. During the virtual meeting on March 29, Carter announced the creation of a new campus operations position called Community Servi