https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com

Public Safety


Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Article

Is defunding the police anti-law enforcement?

Is defunding the police anti-law enforcement?

  • Written by Derek Prall
  • 10th June 2020

Nine months ago, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved a $517 million police operating budget. Now, as protests and demonstrations against police violence sweep the nation, council members are changing course, saying they’re open to defunding the department and reallocating resources to other city departments and services.

The Dallas City Council isn’t alone. Across the country, numerous cities are rethinking how resources are distributed, and the role police play in their communities. And while protest chants of “Defund the Police” might sound aggressively anti-law enforcement, the reality isn’t that clear cut.

So what does “Defund the Police” actually mean? In the most literal sense, it means taking money allocated to police and reallocating it elsewhere. The point, however, isn’t to be punitive or disruptive, Christy Lopez, a Georgetown Law professor and co-director of the school’s Innovative Policing Program wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post. She argues it’s actually not as radical as it seems.

“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,” Lopez wrote. “It means investing more in mental health care and housing, and expanding the use of community mediation and violence interruption programs.”

While this might sound idealistic, there’s at least one dramatic example of it working. Camden, N.J., a town infamous for its violent crime rates for decades, experienced a dramatic turnaround after reallocating police resources into the community, and ridding itself of a costly unionized force in 2012, Yahoo Finance reports. Instead, the city relied on a county community force that prioritized de-escalation and officer accountably.

“While the move doesn’t necessarily equate to “defunding” police as it’s being discussed today in a perfect sense, what ensued in Camden was more parallel to the thesis, as more resources were allowed to be shifted to other community-building initiatives in the following years,” Zach Guzman wrote for Yahoo. “Education reform and workplace development programs boosted the local economy and a more than $8 million program to remove blighted and abandoned properties helped eliminate areas once used by drug dealers.”

In one sense, calls to defund the police could just as accurately be calls to fund the programs that would make officer’s lives easier, Lopez wrote in her editorial.

“Police themselves often complain about having to “do too much,” including handling social problems for which they are ill-equipped,” Lopez penned. “Some have been vocal about the need to decriminalize social problems and take police out of the equation. It is clear that we must reimagine the role they play in public safety.”

Of course, not everyone agrees defunding police departments and reallocating their resources is a reasonable course of action. Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF) and former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department and James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and LELDF board member argue in CNN op-ed that for substantive changes to occur, officers need to be “professionalized.”

“If we want to reduce incidents of police misconduct, improve police-community relations and make neighborhoods safer, we should “professionalize” the police, ensuring that officers are well-paid, appropriately trained and highly accountable, the co-authors wrote. “…While [investing in community initiatives is] important, those advocating for the most extreme end of the spectrum – fully dismantling policing as we know it – ignore the reality of its impracticality and risk, namely the fact that we would still need a reliable system that can prevent and investigate crimes.”

Washington D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham agrees that defunding a police department would end up having the opposite effect the movement’s proponents desire. According to DCist, the chief said on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, that underfunded police departments would result in more inappropriate use of force cases.

“I would caution lawmakers to be very careful moving forward,” Newsham said on the radio show. “The number one thing that contributes to excessive force in any police agency is when you underfund it. If you underfund a police agency, it impacts training, it impacts hiring, it impacts your ability to develop good leaders.”

Tags: homepage-featured-1 public safety News Public Safety News Public Safety Article

Related


  • Local governments in Texas respond to cold snap, power grid failure
    As many Texans remain without power due to an ongoing cold snap in the state, local governments are taking varied measures to try to help their communities where they can. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which controls most of Texas’s power, said on Friday that it has returned to normal operating conditions, CNBC […]
  • Cooperative agreements and other tools can help lean-staffed procurement squads
    In 2021, county budgets are fairly tight, says John D. Tigert, purchasing services manager in Dorchester County, S.C.“Procurement budgets are largely staying the same, with outliers of course, depending on how the organization collects revenue and to what degree that revenue collection was impacted by COVID-19. Most procurement departments tend to run a very lean […]
  • Chicago becomes first city to use free COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool for cities and states
    A new tool that streamlines finding real-time COVID-19 vaccine appointments and booking them is available free of charge for any city, state and large care organization to implement. Chicago is the first city to implement the tool, known as the Zocdoc Vaccine Scheduler, according to a news release. In Chicago, the vaccine scheduler aggregates data […]
  • Tennessee purchasing crew fine-tunes its pandemic response
    When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the two-person procurement team at Knoxville’s (Tenn.) Community Development Corp. (KCDC) leaped into action, says Terry McKee, IT and procurement director. “We immediately began seeking personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies, which is not something that we have needed much of in the past. We also became the one open […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Looking ahead: What 2021 will bring to public safety
  • Minneapolis cuts millions from police budget
  • Despite budget squeeze, state and local governments must shore up cyber posture
  • BhamStrong delivers long-term solutions in uncertain times

White papers


Discover How Public Sector Officials are Monitoring and Managing Overtime in This New White Paper

22nd February 2021

How to Assemble a Successful Government Grant Proposal

5th February 2021

The Rise of Procurement’s Next Normal

5th February 2021
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

How technology can ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine dlvr.it/RtlLNC

1st March 2021
AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Exemplary Public Servant of the Year Award dlvr.it/RtZbX2

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

American City & County’s 2020 Crown Communities Awards dlvr.it/RtZbVz

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

2020 Crown Communities Awards winner: Rock Hill, S.C.’s My Ride dlvr.it/RtZSFp

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Three communities hosting Augmented Reality Developer Challenge competitions dlvr.it/RtZ94D

26th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Using data to improve emergency response resources dlvr.it/RtVSc0

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

How small cities are tackling lead service line replacement dlvr.it/RtV9G8

25th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020? dlvr.it/RtQRcr

24th February 2021

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X