5 ms·

Does defunding police increase crime? Police department budgets have absolutely ballooned in many places, but crime hasn't really dropped a commensurate amount.

Does defunding police increase crime? Police department budgets have absolutely ballooned in many places, but crime hasn't really dropped a commensurate amount. (In Seattle, police budget has increased over 33% in the past decade, while crime rates haven't moved.) Reductions in policing are paired with increases in spending on community and social programs that address the root causes of crime rather than just punishing those who turn to it from necessity. With the two combined, it's plausible that reducing police funding could actually reduce crime rates if the money was well invested elsewhere.

kortilla 6y ago
Depends on what defunding means. If it’s the textbook definition of stopping funds entirely [1], then it’s definitely going to increase crime. Only a fraction of criminals turn to it from necessity. - The Kansas City mob is not operating out of necessity. - The Mexican cartel is not operating out of necessity. - Child traffickers are not operating out of necessity. When someone hears their drunk neighbor beating his spouse, who should be called if there are no police? 1. https://www.wordnik.com/words/defund https://www.wordnik.com/words/defund
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  Very few people think there should be 0 police officers or zero dollars towards policing. When a homicide happens or an arson happens, yes, there should be a department investigating and diving in. Domestic violence could be responded to by people who are not police but are instead trained in dealing with this scenario. Domestic violence is generally handled poorly by police (who often struggle to find the aggressor, disbelieve the victim, show up armed and ready for additional conflict, etc.). I'd much rather have a force that was trained in crisis intervention, drug abuse, and mental health, but who weren't also armed to the teeth, coupled with the prison system, and generally trained to think they are 'warriors'.

kortilla 6y ago

Depends on what defunding means. If it’s the textbook definition of stopping funds entirely [1], then it’s definitely going to increase crime. Only a fraction of criminals turn to it from necessity. - The Kansas City mob is not operating out of necessity. - The Mexican cartel is not operating out of necessity. - Child traffickers are not operating out of necessity. When someone hears their drunk neighbor beating his spouse, who should be called if there are no police? 1. https://www.wordnik.com/words/defund https://www.wordnik.com/words/defund

Pfhreak 6y ago
Very few people think there should be 0 police officers or zero dollars towards policing. When a homicide happens or an arson happens, yes, there should be a department investigating and diving in. Domestic violence could be responded to by people who are not police but are instead trained in dealing with this scenario. Domestic violence is generally handled poorly by police (who often struggle to find the aggressor, disbelieve the victim, show up armed and ready for additional conflict, etc.). I'd much rather have a force that was trained in crisis intervention, drug abuse, and mental health, but who weren't also armed to the teeth, coupled with the prison system, and generally trained to think they are 'warriors'.