Why do you keep talking about Copaganda?

Copaganda (noun) is a form of propaganda used to describe depictions of police in a positive (or excessively positive) light while obscuring negative qualities, most often through mass media, with the intent of swaying public opinion for the benefit of law enforcement.

Copaganda is Harmful

Police organizations wield significant political power and use that power to avoid accountability, promote racialized fear, and divert resources away from meaningful community investment.

Extreme political pressures from police organizations result in underfunding of community programs. Often, the police department is the only city agency with the resources to respond to natural and public health disasters. Politicians take advantage of these tragedies as photo-ops, producing copaganda designed to make it difficult to remain critical of the racist and violent structure of policing by showcasing cops in these “helper” roles.

This becomes the Political Copaganda Cycle. Pressure from police organizations diverts resources away from community programs to the police department. Underfunded communities experience crises, which the cops react to. Local politicians will capitalize on the media attention by publicly praising the police. These actions expand police political power and restart the cycle again.

We look to our elected leaders to implement meaningful changes in our communities. As the public's outcry has increased, many politicians have promised during their campaigns to end police violence and prioritize services over bloated police budgets. However, once elected, officials have regularly failed to fulfill these promises, leading to growing public disillusionment and mistrust. We have seen these same candidates engage in “copaganda” once elected, intentionally distributing falsehoods in support of the police.

Dearborn's "Progressive" Politicians are Copagandaists, Too

While conservatives and republicans make their allegiance to cops apparent, liberals and democrats pull the same crap. Dearborn's "progressive" mayor Hammoud has posted Copaganda to his personal accounts. Check out this example from earlier this year where he states "I want to provide residents a glimpse of what this looks like. In particular, I'd like to highlight that our officers resolve nearly EVERY major crime related issue within a matter of a day"

We dig into why this is misleading in the post That's Enough Copaganda, Mayor Hammoud.

Stop Celebrating Structural Failures

For now, we need to remind our elected officials that it is a structural failure that places police in the position of performing these functions that would be much more effectively performed by other professionals specifically trained in such functions 

Local officials face pressure to prioritize the interests of donors and endorsers to maintain the status quo, which can lead to a lack of political will to follow through on campaign promises. Often, this pressure is strategically applied after a candidate’s first election to office and they become dependent on re-election.

Accountability Makes Change

Local elected officials may come to believe that allying themselves closely with the police department is politically advantageous, but we disagree. Abolishing the police and reassigning their responsibilities and funding to social service organizations is the only answer to move toward a future that ensures safety for all of us. Keep pressure on your local officials and hold them accountable if they change their tune after their election.