Ann Arbor, MI, removed all 600 anti-crime signs in the city in the name of inclusivity.
The University of Michigan’s home has lost its mind.
The city council voted on the resolution in December, but completed the task this week.
The resolution claimed the signs “encouraged informal surveillance practices that disproportionately targeted people of color and contributed to patterns of exclusion under the guise of public safety.”
“These programs were often rooted in assumptions about who did and did not ‘belong’ in a neighborhood, reinforcing race-based hyper-vigilance and suspicion particularly toward Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents and visitors,” according to the resolution.
The resolution claimed the signs “encouraged informal surveillance practices that disproportionately targeted people of color and contributed to patterns of exclusion under the guise of public safety.”
From Fox News:
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, a Democrat, further explained the decision in an official video released by the city and set to music. Taylor said that “Frankly, neighborhood watch signs are expressions of exclusion.”The resolution to remove the signs passed by the City Council read that the neighborhood watch programs “were often rooted in assumptions about who did and did not ‘belong’ in a neighborhood, reinforcing race-based hyper-vigilance and suspicion particularly toward Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents and visitors,” according to The Midwesterner.In its statement, the city called the neighborhood watch program “defunct,” saying that it emerged “during a period of national anxiety about crime and social change.””Such signage,” the city said, “does not reduce crime and can reinforce biased surveillance.”
The resolution also said neighborhood watch programs and signs don’t stop crime and reinforced racism:
In October 2025, CBS News reported that crime in downtown Ann Arbor went up by 9% over the past year, while violent crime rose 11%.
Overall, though, crime in Ann Arbor dropped 7%, and violent crime dropped 4%.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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