The conclusion of Judge John Wilson’s (ret.) analysis of the bizarre concept of ending police protection of the American people.
Views on what defunding the police actually means range across the spectrum. According to CNN, “some supporters of divestment want to reallocate some, but not all, funds away from police departments to social services. Some want to strip all police funding and dissolve departments.” One of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter, Patrisse Cullors, said that defunding the police “means that we are reducing the ability for law enforcement to have resources that harm our communities…It’s about reinvesting those dollars into black communities, communities that have been deeply divested from.”
There is no basis in reality for the claim that black communities have been “deeply divested from.” In fact, a review of the 2019 Minneapolis City budget reveals that of the $349.9 million in taxes collected in 2019, $20 million was budgeted for the “Minneapolis Homes program which provides affordable financial assistance to create homeownership opportunities; and a new Healthy Homes, Healthy Schools program which aims to provide housing stability for City of Minneapolis families with students enrolled in Minneapolis public schools”; provides for “major investments in Community Police Relations across multiple departments”; and includes this statement – “As we continue a near decade-long economic expansion, we know that the effects of the expansion are not being felt equally amongst all communities within our city. This budget invests in continuing to grow our economy through inclusion – rather than accepting disparate outcomes as given.”
Other cities have joined the “Defund the Police” bandwagon. In New York, Mayor Bill DeBlasio has vowed to cut the budget of the NYPD, and give the money to “Youth and Social Services,” while Los Angeles Mayor Gil Garcetti wants to cut up to $150 million from his budget as part of a broader effort to reinvest more dollars into the black community.
Meanwhile, on the federal level, “House and Senate Democrats…are expected to unveil the new ‘Justice in Policing Act of 2020,’ which includes major overhauls for how police officers around the country will do their jobs. (The bill) includes prohibiting the use of chokeholds, lowering legal standards to pursue criminal and civil penalties for police misconduct, and banning certain no-knock warrants.”
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For a glimpse of what supporters of defunding the police have in mind, we can turn to the Occupy Wall Street protest of 2011. When women reported rape or sexual molestation, “Brendan Burke, 41, who help(ed) run the security team in Zuccotti Park…admitted there have been times when members of the community have taken it upon themselves to chase off men who exposed themselves in the park. “If there is a consensus that someone is bothering another person, the community will take care of it,” he said.”
How will the community take care of this issue? In 2011 the protest organizers released this statement; “As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence…We are working for…a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally… We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”
It remains to be seen how “encouraging healthy relationship dynamics” will lead to the arrest, prosecution and incarceration of a sex offender, or how additional funding for Youth and Social Programs will lead to the arrest of the man who pushes your Grandmother to the ground, breaking her hip, and stealing her purse.
Illustration: Pixabay