“In the years following the ‘defund’ movement, police budgets were slowly redirected to mental health services, community therapy programs, and STEM education in priority neighbourhoods. The Perpetration-Risk External Evaluation (PREE) system, a so-called community watch program, took over the physical police presence in communities. Beneath the veneer of calm suburban safety and incoming gentrification, there remains an unsettling vibe in Malvern. Kadeem feels it — the residual energy of unresolved vendettas, the somatic heft of trauma carried over generations, and the persistent weight of surveillance.”