This book was very informative of how the police are failing us, but offered little in solutions. The section on sexual and domestic violence was abysmal. I’ve read a lot of abolition, and this was great at setting up why we need defunding, but it felt like there was no hope in most places. Other books have been able to find a balance with goals and steps for the future. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

This was a great book. It gives a lot of background and information on the concept of defunding the police, difficulties with police reform, and what alternatives to our current system are. I think the book gave some open guidance to how we can individually improve our system/community, even if we aren't directly able to change the system. I think this is a great intro read to someone who is interested in the concepts surrounding community justice, community policing, defunding the police and police reform subjects.

I flew through this book.

I’m a freelance DEI administrator and diversity consultant and this would be a wonderful resource for educators and students who want to understand more about why policing in America is based purely off of harm and what resources we as citizens have to reduce that harm. Definitely a good, broad overview—plenty of other books go deeper into the subject—but a great introduction.

Thank you, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor / Pantheon, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Defund: Black Lives, Policing And Safety For All, by Sandy Hudson.

This book will be released on April 1, 2025.

This book does an excellent job explaining what defunding the police really means and discussing the existing problems with the police. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in the topic.

I give this book an A.

Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on January 10, 2025.