We aren’t defunding the police we’re making changes.
In recent weeks, some large municipalities with a history of police brutality have reallocated funds in line with the defund police movement. Los Angeles will have at least $100 million reallocated away from LAPD to programs for minority communities. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that she will work with community groups to reprioritize funding. Baltimore City Council voted to reallocate $22 million away from the police department’s fiscal budget for 2021, which is typically over $500 million. The city council plans to redirect the funding to recreational centers, trauma centers, and forgivable loans for Black-owned businesses. In Prince George’s County, Maryland, the goal is to reallocate $20 million away from a new training facility for its police department (though the money will not come out of the police department’s budget) and to remove Student Resource Officers from schools. Other areas, such as Minneapolis, have advocated for removing police officers from schools as well.
Altogether, it is clear that municipalities across the U.S. are making changes in line with the defund police movement. So, while the word “reallocate” may be a more palatable, digestible word on the House floor or at a city council meeting, “defund” surely gets more attention on a protest sign.
And more importantly, it seems to be having an impact. Don’t be fooled. For 20 years in Baltimore, I worked as a social worker and probation officer with at-risk teens. My goal was to keep them out of jail and into community programs. It works!
Susan Quarrick Hanson
Hopwood