DENVER, CO – JUNE 01: Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen embraces a woman during a march to protest the death of George Floyd on June 1, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Protests continue in cities across the country after Floyd, a black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
(Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)Since the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota, the protests against police brutality and for justice has been constant and strong. There's also been a list of demands from various voices standing in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
One of the demands includes 'defunding' police departments. While it's not a new concept (it was talked about in 2014 during the police-related murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri). However, not much came of it. Well, what would that mean to actually 'defund' the police department? I did some research and here's what I found.
- Instead of funding the police department the money would be reallocated and invested in communities, especially ones that are marginalized and where most policing happens. Funds would go to social services like mental health, domestic violence, homelessness.
- Funds could also be allocated to fund schools, hospitals, housing and food in disenfranchised areas
- Then, there are some people who want to strip all police funding and actually dissolve the police department completely. They reason that some in black communities say they don’t feel protected by police anyway
I don't think the last option is what most Americans want. I mean, there has to be some sort of law and order. But, I did consider this after reading an article on Yahoo Finance that emphasized police reform. A version of 'defunding' the police has actually worked in Camden, New Jersey that was once considered the nation's most dangerous city, but now has the lowest murder rate the town has seen in more than 30 years.
How'd they do it? Police reform. In essence, the city took funds away from policing and pushed it towards efforts that reduced the need for policing. They enhanced mental health resources, public education and employee training programs. In other words, the funds have gone ultimately to protect and serve the people. With these resources, the NEED for police decreased.
The encouraging news is 'defunding' the police department doesn't have to be a bad thing. It could actually be a 'better' thing and a 'right' thing in the quest for police to serve and protect.
