When a person or group cries “Defund the police!”, it could mean several things:
1.) Completely eliminate the budget of the police department, and hence the department itself. This is the demand that the University of Chicago’s #CareNotCops group makes for our campus police, saying they want the University Police gone by 2022. For a case like this, the police department (PD) isn’t supposed to be replaced with another law-enforcement organization.
2.) Reduce the police budget, spending the extra money either on social-service programs or grants given to minority or crime-ridden communities.
3.) Change the method of policing, for example eliminating no-knock warrants or chokeholds.
4.) Supplement police services with social services, like having psychologists or psychiatric social workers respond to calls instead of the cops. That’s not practical, but some places have “ride along” programs where social workers go to relevant calls (domestic violence, child endangerment) with police. Other…
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