ACAB, abbreviation for All Cops Are B**tards.

Police brutality has been evident since the founding of the first police force, and it is only getting worse as more people become aware of the system's shortcomings. As Victoria Gagliardo-Silver from The Independent puts it, “‘ACAB’ means every single police officer is complicit in a system that actively devalues the lives of people of colour.”

The police's key purpose is still to maintain the status quo. They do it by showing up at every protest and making a large number of arrests. For example, in 2013, they detained over 530 people in Montreal over the course of three weeks and two protests, both of which were against police violence.

When it comes to a catchall word like ACAB, it's easier to compartmentalize individual views and feelings about "good officers," but properly comprehending a severely dysfunctional system takes a lot more effort. When activists talk about defunding the police, they're not talking about getting rid of officers entirely; rather, they're talking about dismantling and rebuilding a system in which cops have been able to serve as judge, jury, and—in many cases—executioner for far too long.

People many times say, "Not All Cops" but when we argue in favor of individual police officers' morality, we are undercutting a protest of the broader issue: the unjust policing system in the United States. Just like how 'Not All Men' is problematic.

ACAB essentially implies that, while individual cops may live honourably, they all work for an inherently oppressive organisation that must be eliminated in order to reinvest in transformational justice.