THE PROS
- It would free up some sorely needed funds for programs in an effort to generate social equity in the minority and urban communities.
Photo by Nicole De Khors from Burst
It is argued that if more funds were reallocated to finance housing for the homeless, vocational training for the unemployed, increased public assistance for the poor, educational programs to stem the drug usage tide, etc. in destitute communities, there will not be much need for police to respond to crisis situations there. All that’s needed is economic equity and mental health care for all.
The theory behind this effort is if there are enough support programs in place, those who are at risk will naturally gravitate toward them, willingly participate and comply with their guidelines. This will be accomplished by aggressive educational endeavors with the help of professional mental health personnel. No one can be so naive to believe that there isn’t a critical need for mental health support, especially in poor and minority communities.
Mary Zerkel, a coordinator of AFSC’s “Communities Against Islamophobia” initiative (and served at AFSC for over 20 years), and director of Chicago Peacebuilding wrote an article in the American Friends Service Committee that was updated on October 15, 2020 that was entitled “6 reasons why it’s time to defund the police”. In it, she proposed that:
“We need real change. That’s why we must stop investing in police and incarceration and instead intentionally invest in alternative models that are centered in the community and address the root causes of harm, in addition to making greater investments in schools, health care, and other human needs that keep our communities safe.”
After school programs, tutors, recreation facilities and a whole host of other activities for the youth would keep kids off the street and on a path of living a long, successful, and happy life.
Housing the homeless is another worthwhile goal and studies have shown that those who came from the streets and were offered housing did well as long as they complied with the guidelines. The challenge is first to get the homeless to agree to the new living conditions and then to supervise their progress by getting them supplies they need, including any necessary medication and therapy, and vocational training so that they can see their way to becoming a productive citizen. Those types of success stories bolster communities and foster change.
Those who are mentally ill make up a large portion of those that are homeless. Many times, individuals suffering from bipolar and schizophrenia also end up in the justice system due to behavior they cannot control. Not just on compassionate grounds, but financially, it would actually cost more money housing an individual in jail who suffered a psychotic break while their defense attorney schedules evaluations to prove his absence of culpability in his case than to divert them to mental health care. Sometimes these individuals have to wait a year or more for the disposition. Ironically, they can spend way more incarceration time than what the sentence would have been if found guilty. There has to be a program within the criminal justice system that keeps them out and also keeps citizens safe. This would still cost money upfront, but save more in the long term.
Getting gang members to put down their knives and guns and pick up books and job applications requires some type of mentorship program. Many of those kids are just looking for a place to belong. Those who are in their home life are indifferent to their wants and needs, both emotional and physical, or at least that is what is perceived. They need someone to tell them, “Good job!!” or “You belong here”, even if it is an organization where their freedom or their life is constantly in jeopardy. That’s how powerful this craving of love and acceptance is to their whole being. If the home will not provide these, unfortunately the streets will.
So the challenge here is to get to these kids in a way that grabs their attention, to show them there is a whole different and better life for them, if only they will accept the right path. Just someone passing out pamphlets, or trying to reason with them one on one probably won’t cut it. Aggressive outreach from professionals and volunteers working within a highly structured and organized program with clear objectives is mandatory for any type of measurable success. This will take funds. Where will they come from?
Vocational training for young men and single mothers is sorely lacking, especially in communities of color. In spite of racist claims that say many would rather lay around for most of the day and just take money for government payouts or grants, most times, is not the case. Many situations require that the public assist certain individuals because they have no other alternative, especially when they need to feed their families. I know this is true first hand.
At one time earlier in life I worked as a church custodian. I was paid a salary less than $20,000 a year. Since it was a very large church, as being the only custodian (with one part time older individual that was sick a great deal of the time) to maintain three buildings (including a day school that went up to the 6th grade) and that also sat on 6 acres of land (I was also the groundskeeper), I hardly saw my family, and we lived right across the street! I was working between 12 to 14 hours a day, (Saturday’s before Sunday church services were the worst with me going in at 7am and not coming home until after midnight). There was no way I could even get a part time job to supplement my income. So I had no choice but to apply for food stamps while working at the church. I did not feel good about it. I presume that others in this situation feel the same way. There is something to be said for putting in a full day’s work and pillowing your head with the assurance that you did your job well and that you are adequately providing for your family. Training the indigent vocationally not only improves the outlook of their lives, but it also eases the financial burden of taxpayers. Win-win. However, up front, we need to acquire the funds for these programs. Many believe that taking at least a portion from law enforcement and utilizing this in all these problems will in time diminish the need for the amount of police presence to a significant degree in urban settings.
- Local funds, being supplemented by state and federal grants, would be earmarked for the much needed “First Responders” of the community Task Force.
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst
Speaking from the perspective of a retired police officer, it has been my experience in the department where I served that responding to a 10-46 (demented person) was one of the least desired calls of most of the officers, even more so than a domestic violence dispatch. It helps to understand that if the mentally ill individual needs to be clinically evaluated (he presents to be a danger to himself or others, or cannot fend for himself on his own–either observed first hand by the officer or via a ECO, or Emergency Custody Order from a magistrate), the officer must detain this individual in cuffs and transport this him or her to the mental health clinic to be evaluated by the mental health worker. There, the officer may be required to sit with the individual for sometimes hours due to the time it takes for the mental health evaluation and the mental health worker striving to find a bed for him or her. If the professional is successful in doing so, the officer must transport that individual to the accepting facilility via a TDO (Temporary Detention Order, mandated once again by the magistrate). In most instances, it requires two officers to be taken off the street to transport the individual , at times, several hours away to a mental health facility. It is not uncommon to be dispatched to a mental health call straight out of roll call and either working over or needing relief at the end of your shift for this same call.
Cynthia Lum, who is a professor of criminology, law and society and director of George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, and Christopher S. Koper, who is a professor of criminology, law and society at George Mason University and principal fellow of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, co-authored an article in The Washington published on August 30, 2021. In this article, they claim that a study of millions of 911 calls show only 1.3 percent of dispatched calls are for mental distress. This is somewhat misleading due to the commitment of time involved by law enforcement on each one. For example, a simple complaint call (such as my neighbor is being too loud, or there is someone suspicious walking down the road) may be handled in as little as a half hour, whereas the mental health complaint may last significantly longer.
Another issue to consider is the drug related crisis calls that could be handled by this Public Safety Task Force. This is another call that could require an officer to spend hours in a hospital emergency room waiting to take a drug suspect to jail after he has come down off of his high. The individual, many times handcuffed to the bed, may be facing drug possession, intoxicated or impaired in public, simple assault and larceny charges just to mention a few situations that I have personally worked in my career. If a drug addict could be diverted to psychiatric and drug educational services, it would definitely free up some officers.
So, to confirm, the average police officer does not have a PhD in psychology or has on-going extensive experience in mental health cases. To have a professional who does have these credentials who could give an individual the mental health care in a timely manner is, many times, crucial for the recovery of the individual and the physical safety of both the individual and society.
- To prevent police departments from purchasing military arsenal, such as tear gas, grenade launchers, and assault rifles.
Photo by Norbu GYACHUNG on Unsplash
This is a valid concern, if only to keep our streets from appearing to be a battlefield when a house raid in the community by the police is imminent. No one wants to see armored vehicles rolling in front of their home when their next door neighbors are being invaded with what looks to be the US Army geared up with a military arsenal. That being said, is the threat inside the home to such a degree that makes the amount of force necessary? Have the police ever been wrong on the intel, the location, the amount of force necessary, and how many times have things gone south? These are inquiries that law enforcement agencies would be wise to consider before acting .
Now, it is true that the DOD 1033 program that grants law enforcement agencies military grade weapons and machines supplements the budget these agencies have for procuring this weaponry. However, is that a proper reallocation of our federal property? On the ACLU website it ran an article on May 12th, 2001 (authored by Charlotte Lawrence, Cyrus J Obrien PhD, and Martza Perez) entitled “It’s Past Time To End The Federal Militarizing Of The Police”. It states:
“The transfer of military equipment to state and local law enforcement is a legacy of America’s “forever wars” on drugs, crime, and terror. Congress first enabled the practice in order to facilitate “counter-drug activities” then expanded it under the guise of “counter-terrorism.” Racism and Islamophobia motivated the policymakers who inaugurated these failed “wars,” and the ill effects of America’s militarized police forces continue to be most pronounced in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.”
There are some efforts from some members of Congress to repeal the DOD 1033 program. Whereas this program has eased the financing of weapons and equipment of police agencies, there are still line items in their budgets to acquire, those not granted in the DOD 1033 program. By defunding a portion of their budget along with the dissolving of the federal grants, the hope is that police agencies will not be able to afford these excessive arsenals.
- With a smaller budget, there will be fewer officers, so police agencies will be more careful to employ more capable and responsible officers.
Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash
On paper, and to a growing number of citizens, this sounds right. If we can limit the amount of officers on the street, we can also limit the chance of contact with the police, hence fewer accounts of police brutality. One such proponent is Marime Kaba (director of Project NIA, a grass roots group that works to end youth incarceration, and an anti-criminalization organizer (who wrote an opinion article in The New York Times that was published on June 12, 2020. In this article she states::
“I’ve been advocating the abolition of the police for years. Regardless of your view on police power — whether you want to get rid of the police or simply to make them less violent — here’s an immediate demand we can all make: Cut the number of police in half and cut their budget in half. Fewer police officers equals fewer opportunities for them to brutalize and kill people. The idea is gaining traction in Minneapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles and other cities.”
Also it is surmised that with fewer police officers, the competition to vie for the coveted positions would be so fierce that management in the police department would be able to vet them and only accept the best of STOPthe best, instead of gathering mediocre and questionable candidates to throw out onto the city streets. Additionally, with fewer officers, the “bad apples” would be easier to spot and terminate. The department might be lean, but those on the street would be all that is needed, some believe.
Please return to Blogs and examine the Cons of Defunding the Police
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