Paul Holdengräber is joined by Alex Vitale on episode 131 of The Quarantine Tapes. Alex is a Professor of Sociology who has written extensively on policing. In the last few months, Alex has found himself incredibly busy working to translate the message of “Defund the Police” and what it could mean to rethink our reliance on police as the solution to social problems.Alex and Paul have a fascinating conversation about the origins of policing, how Alex came to this subject, and what it can look like to start shrinking the influence of police and reinvesting in community programs. Alex breaks down his perspective on abolition and offers a vision for a future with a radically different understanding of justice and public safety. Alex S. Vitale is Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and a Visiting Professor at London Southbank University. He has spent the last 30 years writing about policing and consults both police departments and human rights organizations internationally. Prof. Vitale is the author of City of Disorder: How the Quality of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics and The End of Policing. His academic writings on policing have appeared in Policing and Society, Police Practice and Research, Mobilization, and Contemporary Sociology. He is also a frequent essayist, whose writings have appeared in The NY Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Nation, Vice News, Fortune, and USA Today.Credits:Paul Holdengraber - Co-Creator, Host, OLA DirectorAnthony Audi - Co-Creator, Researcher, OLA DirectorAlejandro Cohen - Co-Creator, Producer, ComposerChristian Pitt - Production Coordinator Erin Cooney - Copy, ProductionDublab Team