Recognizing the enduring legacy of racism in modern policing within the United States, which finds its genesis in slave patrols, we call for the immediate termination of any and all interagency law enforcement agreements, such as Northeastern University’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Boston Police Department, and agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

• Most importantly, the University should immediately issue an order to prevent the Boston Police Department from using Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD) equipment and Northeastern University property, such as quads, parking lots, and other University buildings to stage responses to ongoing protests in the City of Boston.

• Recognizing the positive implications of similar structures in Camden, NJ, and now at the University of Rochester, We believe that it is critical for the safety of the Northeastern community that the planned NUPD Community Advisory Board be given the powers and incorporated as an Oversight Committee.

  • This committee should oversee the immediate demilitarization of the NUPD, meaning that NUPD not be equipped with assault rifles and riot gear and that they are entirely dearmed by the end of 2020.

With the ultimate goal of developing sustainable alternatives to policing, we propose that tuition and other university fees paid by students be directed away from funding the NUPD. These funds should be committed to expand and transform the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) into a Restorative Justice Center at Northeastern University designed to facilitate trauma response and healing for community members.

• This newly converted Restorative Justice Center should be staffed with trained counselors and other relevant specialists to work with UHCS and OPEN to relieve the NUPD of the following duties:

  1. Mental health checks

  2. Incidents involving non- emergent medical transports

  3. Incidents involving drug and substance abuse

• The practices of the Restorative Justice Center should be grounded in principles as submitted by the Northeastern Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project:

"The central tenet of restorative justice is that the justice process belongs to the community. Communities must engage in remediating historical wrongs, sometimes through their governmental institutions and law, and sometimes in street-level organizing...Communities themselves must identify a context-tailored process that will further their needs as they themselves define them."

We recommend that the University make a contribution to the following funds and organizations working to address the effects of the ongoing and systematic oppression of Black people:

1. 1. The Massachusetts Redistribution Fund

   2. The Massachusetts Bail Fund

   3. NAACP Legal Defense Fund