A major university is hosting a project that aims to create “police free futures” amidst rising numbers of shootings and sex crimes on campus, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The University of Michigan Campus Abolition Research Lab hosts the #PoliceFreeCampus project that pushes to have schools operate “without the presence of law enforcement” and teaches students how to become “campus abolitionists,” according to the project’s website. The university’s students have faced two shootings and five sex crimes in six weeks, including one that took place inside a campus building, the Free Beacon reported.
The lab was founded in 2020 by Charles H.F. Davis III, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who focuses on issues such as “race and racism, systems of oppression, and structures of domination,” according to his university’s website. Davis also spearheads the #PoliceFreeCampus project as the “principal investigator” and regularly appears on the project’s podcast.
How Do We Prevent Gun Violence Without Police? Look to Abolitionistshttps://t.co/1omdxGYCal
— Charles H.F. Davis III (@hfdavis) July 15, 2023
The University of Michigan has had two shootings and five sex crimes in the last month and a half alone, according to the Washington Free Beacon. One of these crimes involved a woman attacking a man with a knife and firing a gun inside a student dormitory on June 5. A day before, a man approached a group of people walking a block away from campus and shot one of the people during an argument. In late May, a man approached a female student and groped her before proceeding to expose himself to multiple other female students on campus. On July 7, two women were sexually assaulted in a campus dorm and robotics building.
Despite what seems to be a growing trend of violent and sexual crime on campus, the University of Michigan’s Campus Abolition Research Lab continues to promote the #PoliceFreeCampus project, according to the Washington Free Beacon. (RELATED: Major University Pays More Than $18 Million To Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Staff)
The University of Michigan has not adopted the #PoliceFreeCampus initiative, as the school currently relies on its own armed security force and the Ann Arbor Police Department.
U-M has said that the Campus Abolition Research Lab “isn’t funded by the university,” but #PoliceFreeCampus claims it produces studies given “funding from the National Center for Institutional Diversity at University of Michigan,” the Free Beacon reported.
U-M and Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.