*This is a audio version of a video originally made for Youtube: https://youtu.be/ojXxz1u1R4c*An excerpt from my previous video The Communes of Rojava: A Model In Societal Self-Direction (https://youtu.be/cDnenjIdnnE). I'll be releasing several other excerpts over the coming days covering each committee of the commune system.I try to provide insight into the question "Do we need police in order to be safe as a community?" by using the way people in Rojava/DFNS have come together to protect themselves as a case study.I look at the defense committees prevalent in many Rojavan communes as the outlines of a practical alternative to the police.The community defense members in the communes (HPC and HPC-Jin) are all:1. Elected and from the community2. Recallable3. Mandated (only allowed to act as directly told by the commune members)4. Enforcing norms that every commune member gets a democratic say on instead of rigid laws given from above4. Rotating and dispersed to as many people as possible to prevent abuse of power and make community safety a collective responsibility5. Undergo regular criticism and self-criticism sessions in front of the whole communityThis I argue makes them completely different from police, and a model I hope is incubated more to eventually replace the Asayish (regular security forces/police). I. A Short Introduction to the Commune System of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria II. The Communal Defense Committee: An Alternative to Police