3 ms·

Actually defund the police means exactly what it says. The proposal is that police budgets get diverted to mental health and rehabilitation programs. The budge

Actually defund the police means exactly what it says. The proposal is that police budgets get diverted to mental health and rehabilitation programs. The budget moved to mental health & rehab would be handled under a different agency than the police, which is something that is constantly argued over. Many opponents of defund the police agree with the overall budget reallocation, but they believe the budget should not change agencies. What opponents need to understand about the movement is that police would have less to do, as many emergency calls would be handled by actual professionals. So if they still need their mini tanks, assault weapons, and SWAT gear, they can still make a case based on their newly lightened responsibilities.

UnpossibleJim 5y ago
A lot of the mini-tanks, assault weapons and SWAT gear is based on how the police are funded, not necessarily the amount of funding they have. The amount of funding a police department has is determined at the beginning of the fiscal year and by how much was spent by the previous year, including any shortfalls or excesses in budgetary spending. City councils and Mayors/DA's are always looking to trim the police budget (believe it or not), so a lot of the time, the department will take any excess budget they have at the end of the year and spend it on military auction items (a whole other mess), in order to keep their budget and show that they've been able to stretch their budget as far as they can and get the most value for their dollar (I read a very good article about it like 2 years ago, or so and can't find it). But departments do this so they don't lose their future budgets, "just in case" they need to hire future officers, need more "real" equipment, etc. etc. This has lead to the increase in militarization of the police and the militarization of the tactics of the police as military personnel are already familiar with the equipment. There has been no same said impetus to increase nonviolent intervention tactics on an ever increasingly divisive nation, who's "news" cycle and social networks actively work to stoke division and tension as it feeds interaction, which provides more eyes on advertisement (sorry, I went down a rabbithole in the end, there). It would be better, well it would be a start, to have quarterly budget reviews and performance reviews tied to the needs of the community and training. But, we all know that isn't how politics works =(
bleachedsleet 5y ago
> Actually defund the police means exactly what it says. …to you. Not everyone agrees and the simple fact that this discussion is taking place and you are defending this slogan would seem to render this purported clarity moot.
- jklinger410 5y ago
  Most of the confusion is semantic in nature. Whether defund means remove all funding or just some funding. I think some radicals wanted to remove all funding, and radicals on the other side latched onto that and spread that as if it were the truth. Defund the police has mostly been about reallocating budgets between agencies. There are, however, a few specific branches of police that protestors have want shut down, but not to remove policing entirely.

UnpossibleJim 5y ago

A lot of the mini-tanks, assault weapons and SWAT gear is based on how the police are funded, not necessarily the amount of funding they have. The amount of funding a police department has is determined at the beginning of the fiscal year and by how much was spent by the previous year, including any shortfalls or excesses in budgetary spending. City councils and Mayors/DA's are always looking to trim the police budget (believe it or not), so a lot of the time, the department will take any excess budget they have at the end of the year and spend it on military auction items (a whole other mess), in order to keep their budget and show that they've been able to stretch their budget as far as they can and get the most value for their dollar (I read a very good article about it like 2 years ago, or so and can't find it). But departments do this so they don't lose their future budgets, "just in case" they need to hire future officers, need more "real" equipment, etc. etc. This has lead to the increase in militarization of the police and the militarization of the tactics of the police as military personnel are already familiar with the equipment. There has been no same said impetus to increase nonviolent intervention tactics on an ever increasingly divisive nation, who's "news" cycle and social networks actively work to stoke division and tension as it feeds interaction, which provides more eyes on advertisement (sorry, I went down a rabbithole in the end, there). It would be better, well it would be a start, to have quarterly budget reviews and performance reviews tied to the needs of the community and training. But, we all know that isn't how politics works =(

bleachedsleet 5y ago

> Actually defund the police means exactly what it says. …to you. Not everyone agrees and the simple fact that this discussion is taking place and you are defending this slogan would seem to render this purported clarity moot.

jklinger410 5y ago
Most of the confusion is semantic in nature. Whether defund means remove all funding or just some funding. I think some radicals wanted to remove all funding, and radicals on the other side latched onto that and spread that as if it were the truth. Defund the police has mostly been about reallocating budgets between agencies. There are, however, a few specific branches of police that protestors have want shut down, but not to remove policing entirely.