Police Files has incorporated as a California nonprofit. It was always the plan to do so, for a variety of reasons. Before the first iteration of the website went live, Police Files intended to incorporate. And so, now, we are officially Police Files Inc.
Mission Statement
Our aspirational mission statement is direct, comprehensive, and forward-looking:
Police Files Inc maintains a central repository for data regarding all aspects of policing and the prison-industrial complex in California for the benefit of the general public, with an eye toward empowering impacted individuals, families, and communities. We develop this resource in collaboration with project stakeholders, which include journalists, civil rights attorneys, and police accountability and abolitionist organizations. We collate information and distribute it on the internet, in print, and via other media forms. We produce original news articles, infographics, analyses, and first-person reports. We utilize sociological concepts and evidence-based research — and promote strategies such as harm reduction and healing justice — in order to foster a better understanding of public safety and well-being beyond law enforcement and mass incarceration.
Board of Directors
We have an outstanding board that brings a wealth of relevant experience to Police Files.
David Marshall — independent journalist, who extensively covered the Justice for Oscar Grant movement, and web developer
Scott Olsen — successfully sued OPD for grievous police attack, former board member of KPFA and Iraq Veterans Against the War (currently, About Face: Veterans Against the War)
Anne Weills — activist, former union organizer, and civil rights attorney, worked on behalf of those incarcerated in solitary confinement at Pelican Bay, facing filthy conditions at Santa Rita jail, and surviving rampant sexual abuse at FCI Dublin
Scott Morris — investigative journalist and co-founder of the Vallejo Sun
Cat Brooks — performing artist, organizer, radio host of Law & Disorder on KPFA, and co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project and Justice Teams Network
Fiscal Sponsorship
Although we intend to do so, we have not yet filed for our own 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. In the interim, Police Files is fiscally sponsored by the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), an Oakland-based 501(c)(3). That doesn’t mean they are contributing funds. It means Police Files can solicit grants and tax-deductible donations via APTP’s sponsorship. We are incredibly grateful for their support.
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