Care Not Cops Portland (CNC) was founded in 2017 to reduce the violence of policing and build up community care. CNC works to reduce the Portland Police Bureau budget (PPB) and advocate for redirecting public resources to community alternatives and programs that address harm and build strong, thriving communities.
Care Not Cops is working to end the inherently violent and racist policing of Portland's communities of color. Our work is rooted in the belief that policing endangers the health and well-being of communities. CNC understands the role of policing in enforcing social control and white supremacy which fuel gentrification, displacement, repression, and disempowerment of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. Currently our campaign aims to dismantle the gang policing unit of the Portland Police Bureau: the Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT). Anti-gang policing intensifies the violence, criminalization, and surveillance that is characteristic of policing as a whole. City funds must be directed towards life-sustaining resources instead.