Since the death of George Floyd last summer, a long-standing movement for police reform and abolition became the topic of national news. For people who have been following the Black Lives Matter movement since the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, the conversation was long overdue. But for those who had just become aware of the violence that was occurring in their very own cities, talk of defunding the police was extremely scary. But it’s not as radical as it sounds. No, crime will not be rampant in the streets. Yes, there will still be a police force in your city. But if you’re wondering what defunding the police means, here’s everything you need to know.
- What does it mean?
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Defunding the police is about reallocating resources from the police budget and distributing them to underfunded social services like housing, mental health, employment, and youth services. As written by Christy E. Lopez, a professor at Georgetown Law School and a director of the school’s Innovative Policing Program, in an op-ed piece for the Washington Post, “Defunding the police means shrinking the scope of police responsibilities and shifting most of what government does to keep us safe to entities that are better equipped to meet that need. It means investing more in mental health care and housing, and expanding the use of community mediation and violence interruption programs.”
- Why should we defund the police?
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We’ve gotten to the point where we overly rely on the police. They’re called in for situations that they are not trained to handle and often make the situation worse. As stated by Arthur Rizer, a former police officer and veteran of the U.S. Army who heads the criminal justice program at the center-right R Street Institute, for an article for Vox, “‘Cops are very equipped to be the hammer and enforce the law. They know how to use those tools forcefully and effectively; for everything else, they are lacking. Of course, that’s going to end badly.’” Police are not trained to handle social issues like mental health, homelessness, youth, and poverty, among others. They’re trained to respond to violent crimes, but spend the majority of their time responding to non-criminal calls and lower-level crimes.
On top of the fact that police are not trained to respond to situations that require mediation, de-escalation, and social work, police department funds take up a large chunk of many cities’ budgets. Oftentimes, they exceed funds for employment, mental health, addiction, education, and other important social services. In Boston, the police budget last year was a whopping $414 million, surpassing the budget of the Cabinet of Health and Human Services and the Public Health Commission, even during a global pandemic. Nationwide, the U.S. spends 100 billion dollars on policing, while social service departments continue underfunded.
If the police budget were to be redistributed to social service departments and community programs, community needs would be addressed by people better suited to respond to problems in a community. This is especially important for people of color, who are disproportionately affected by police violence every year.
- Has any city ever defunded their police department?
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Some people think it’s unrealistic for a police department to be defunded. However, in 2012, Camden, New Jersey, a city once named the most dangerous city in the U.S., decided to make the change. Crime was escalating in the city, and the first thought was to add more officers to the streets. Instead, the City of Camden fired its entire police force, rehired 100 officers, and created a county community force instead. The disbanding of the police department allowed the city to redistribute its funds to community building services. The new community police force focused on de-escalation of conflict, instead of the warrior-like mentality that officers are taught. The economy in the city was boosted by new education and workplace programs. Over the past seven years of defunding the police, violent crimes dropped by 42%.
On top of the crimes dropping and the economy boosting, the City of Camden has created a family-like relationship with the police and residents. When a new officer joins the force, they are required to knock on the doors of the neighborhoods assigned to them, introduce themselves, and ask what the neighborhood needs to improve. The police host barbecues, bring food trucks, and even host drive-in movie nights to get to know the residents. The police are no longer seen as an enemy but as a friend and a helping hand.