This is a bit like the "but would you eat meat if you were on a desert island?" question that vegans often get asked.

The sad thing is though for abolitionists, we are living on the desert island when it comes to having alternatives to the police. One of the things that makes it very easy for me to not call the police is that they are terrible at doing any of the things you think they will help you with.

If you hear your neighbor have a serious argument and you worry that someone might get hurt, chances are you'll have a better result just knocking on the door and being non-confrontational.

If your house has been burgled and you need to claim on your insurance, there's probably not much harm calling the police and getting your crime reference number because the police aren't actually going to catch anyone.

The important question is probably what can I do now so I don't need to call the police in the future?