Refreshing film provides a blueprint to real safety: conversations
In February 2023, Reimagining Safety directed by Matthew Solomon, had its official West Coast premiere at the San Pedro International Film Festival or SPIFFest, where the film received a Special Mention Award. Additionally, Random Lengths News’ YouTube channel is featuring a podcast interview, on Angel City Culture Quest, with Solomon in a deep discussion of the film as well as his other work as a conflict resolution facilitator.
A Refreshing Film!
Reimagining Safety is a masterpiece documentary exposition on what safety can look like in American society — something that is desperately needed instead of the punitive system now in place. The current system does not provide true safety, for the victims of harm, the persons who committed the harm or society as a whole. We know that marginalized populations suffer punishment disproportionate to their crime, or worse, at the hands of police. Reimagining Safety shows how the persistence of the carceral system has not served society.
Worldwide protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd included calls to defund or abolish the police until a sharp rise in crime gave politicians and police supporters the fuel they needed to suppress the movement. Unfortunately, a detailed conversation about transforming public safety was never had. In Reimagining Safety (shot on iPhone), 10 experts (including LA County District Attorney George Gascón, USC Law professor Dr. Jody Armour and law enforcement expert Alex S Vitale) discuss the false premise that more police and more prisons make us safer. It does this while providing practical and actionable solutions toward achieving systems of safety that work for everyone.
The film is traveling throughout the country at film festivals and impact screenings with social justice organizations. Solomon explained, knowing how social media can be and how polarized things are, he intentionally tried to build allied support behind the film because he knows there will be blowback. However, the film has received very positive feedback and support from social justice organizations and newly elected progressive leaders. Early in June, Reimagining Safety premiered in Harlem New York at The Peoples Film Festival, where Solomon was awarded Best Cinematographer. Nine of the 10 interviews were shot on an iPhone. On June 14, the film screened in Kansas City, Missouri, where Solomon, in an update, said he met great people who loved the film. They wanted him to return for more screenings. In fact, he was moved by the response it received.
The film’s genesis happened when Solomon was doing his thesis project for his master’s degree in public administration program at Claremont Lincoln University — which became the Reimagining Safety film. Solomon noted, because it was an academic project, he wanted it to be well-rounded. He wanted the sources to be experts from not only activists but also Dr. El Jones – professor and co-author of Defunding the Police – Planning the Way Forward for the HRM, Hadiya Kennedy – former detective, The Los Angeles Police Department and Jose Gutierrez – licensed social worker, therapist, and restorative justice practitioner.
Gutierrez, who is based in San Pedro, also spoke to RLN about subjects discussed in the film. About Solomon, he said he did amazing work.
The working title of the film was What If We Abolish the Police? But Solomon’s intent was for this film to be accessible to everyone. Indeed, it opens viewers’ minds to begin “Reimagining Safety.”
Police, Prisons and Incarceration
“Policing is not only about the police; it’s about land, territory, resources and inherently about capitalism and protecting white people’s property.
Our conception of justice, for 50 years, has been rooted in retribution.”
We hear these facts in the film’s opening and if you’re paying attention, you’re aware of them. In terms of abolishing the police, Gutierrez recognized that there is both the idea to “defund the police” and to “abolish the police.” People often respond to these ideas by asking, what if someone robs your house or if you’re attacked?
“Those are reasonable questions,” said Gutierrez. “But it doesn’t end there.
“It’s about abolishing not only the police but really all forms of punitive and carceral systems,” he said. “Probation officers, private prisons, public prisons, jails, ankle bracelets, cameras, helicopters, police scanners, license plate scanners. There are so many forms of control the carceral system uses that … we overlook things. But it runs deep, especially in communities of color. … It’s not just police … there’s a lot more to it.”
His response: “What would you like to have in your community to feel safe?
“When you flip it and give that perspective and put it back on them, [to ask] what do you want? People start to open their eyes and [see that] police don’t necessarily always fall into that equation. People talk about having extracurricular activities, recreational activities, arts, sports for young people.”
Why Is It Like This?
The police academy is set up, on average, to provide 60 hours of firearms training and eight hours of de-escalation training, which occurs at the end during role playing, which Solomon participated in. Former detective Hadiya Kennedy discussed the constant escalation instead of de-escalation tactics both in training and on the job. Kennedy said the training police receive is nothing like when they get out in the real world. There’s no training in how to talk to people until right before their graduation — and that relates to talking to suspects, not how to deal with people.
This speaks directly to detasking police and re-tasking more appropriate community service providers who can mitigate the situation. It’s perplexing. We’ve had mass outcry to defund and de-task police, yet no real change. The film illustrates how implicit bias factors in. Dr. Jody Armour who studied this, notes science is now learning that not very much can be done to change this behavior. In 2021, National Institutes of Health reported implicit bias training requires a comprehensive institutional change strategy, with actionable trainings — including addressing root causes of biases in work structures, policies and procedures and implementing these strategies intentionally, long term. Unfortunately, these methods don’t fit with the emergency nature of policing, or society’s immediate demands on police.
The Role of The Media
Reimagining Safety details how embedded we are in copaganda; “Fifty percent of fictional content on television consumed per year is crime based and 30% of all content is crime based.
“Some of the longest running cop shows on T.V. are produced by police departments. This media bombardment undermines civil liberties, warps a sense of what it takes to produce safe, healthy communities and erases the potential of other kinds of interventions we need to be safe.”
Society has been conditioned but throughout the film, the common thread — and what will sustain our safety — is communication. Dr. El Jones noted this includes,“having a conversation on how to move away from an ideology of punishment.”
Gutierrez presented questions for communities to consider: What world do we want to live in? What does safety mean? How are we going to repair harm when it happens? When we make mistakes or we harm someone, how are we going to hold each other accountable?
“We need ideas and we need people to be involved and included on how we’re going to make communities safe,” Gutierrez said.
What Now? (Solutions and Alternatives)
Always interested in communication, Solomon’s goal was to have an opening for discussions for people who aren’t abolitionists but don’t know what the solutions are. Here, Reimagining Safety has succeeded, edifying people to implement new approaches to safety where all people are “heard, valued and understood.”
Next up, Reimagining Safety screens in Montclair New Jersey, July 12. The film returns to California, Aug. 18 at the Skid Row Museum in downtown LA.
This is followed by a screening in Sacramento, Sept. 22, hosted by the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association and a coalition of other organizations at Sacramento State University.
You can also request to host a screening of Reimagining Safety on the films website
Awards:
- Best Documentary Feature – Crown Point International Film Festival, Chicago IL.
- Special Mention Award Best Documentary – The San Pedro International Film Festival, San Pedro CA.
- Award of Recognition – The Impact DOCS Awards, San Diego, CA.
- Honorable Mention – The Blackbird Film Festival, New York, N.Y.
- Honorable Mention – Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Athens Greece
- Finalist Best Documentary Feature – Washington DC International Cinema Festival, Washington D.C.
- Finalist Best Documentary Feature – The Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA.
- Current Semi-Finalist Best Documentary Feature – Oakland Film Festival, Oakland CA.