Answer

Defunding the Police

Introduction

The police service in America is dogged by a long history of brutality against the citizens they are supposed to protect. The police officers supposed to offer citizens protection have turned out to be their worst nightmare.  Almost six years since the death of Eric Garner at the hands of a police officer in New York, the world witnessed yet another agonizing death of George Floyd stemming directly from the actions of the callous police officers.  Unfortunately, most of the victims of these brutal actions of the police are members of the black community in the country (Taylor,2018).   The current unfair policing when it comes to black people points to a long history of the oppression that the blacks have endured in the hands of the police.  First, the early example of policing in the United States was a slave patrol; then, the police continued targeting blacks through enforcing the Jim Crow law, stopping protests, and the war on drugs (Fenandez,2020).  In all the incidents, black Americans were on the receiving end of police brutality. The killing of George Floyd led to massive protests and more energized calls for police reforms in the country, specifically defunding the police service.

Defunding the Police

Defunding the police, although seen by several pro-police reform groups as the best way to reduce the number of cases of violence from the police against those they are supposed to protect, is a concept new to many people. Fenandez (2020) defines police defunding as a method of divesting the money usually allocated for police departments across the country and channeling it to other services that directly benefit the people and are geared towards reducing crime.

Currently, police departments across the country receive a lot of money to meet their budgetary needs. The bulk of the money often ends up being used to militarize the police service, a move that significantly increases the chances of violent encounters with those they are supposed to protect.  Therefore, proponents of police reform argue that policing does not eliminate the root cause of most societal problems. They only take the offender, lock them up, and then release them to continue committing similar crimes after their incarceration.  For instance, police can arrest and lock up a person found with hard drugs but cannot solve the problem, which is the addiction to the drug. Thus, proponents of police reforms argue that the massive police budgets should be cut and the money directed to community institutions and services that are able to address the root causes of the crimes both in the short and long term.

Over the years, police department budgets have risen tremendously. For instance, Los Angeles city with a budget of $10.5 billion allocate the Loss Angeles police department $3.14 billion for its services. The colossal amount allocated to the police is so high in comparison to the $81 million it allocated to address homelessness and $30 million for economic development.  Similarly, the city of New York spends approximately $ 6 billion on policing. This huge spending on the police force has not resulted in a proportionate decrease in the crime rate. Additionally, they have also done little in improving the relations between the police and the community. It is, therefore, imperative to cut the police budgets and channel the money realized to ventures such as improving education standards, providing social services, increasing the minimum wage, and creating organizations that respond to non-violent calls.

Calls for service

Police officers respond to all emergency calls in their area of jurisdiction. However, not all the calls require the services of police officers.  According to Ekins (2016), 8 out of 10 calls that police officers respond to are non-violent crimes. However, the presence of police in such settings escalates the matter to violence because of the following reasons; first, police officers training prepares them for violent encounters and solving crimes.  Therefore, they can do little to help a person with mental illness. Secondly, the poor relationship between the police and some of the people they serve. Members of the black community have a profound fear of the police.

The fear stems from years of selective and targeted policing that focused on black people and often at times led to death at the hands of the police.  As such, calling the police to respond to a non-violent crime with people who do not trust them can easily escalate the situation to a violent one. Notably, the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta by police demonstrates how police officers respond violently to non-violent police calls. Consequently, it is imperative for the states to form various groups to respond to non-violent crimes in order to reduce such cases of violence from the police. Such groups should be financed with money attained from defunding the police

Additionally, having such groups would reduce the police workload, a factor that would increase their efficiency and reduce their stress levels and cases of violent interaction with those they are supposed to police. Instead of reporting to calls of cats stuck in trees, the police should only respond to cases that require their expertise such as those where the criminals are putting the lives of the public in danger or to make arrests.

Investing in education

According to Schwartz (2016), the increase in crime despite the colossal amount of budgetary allocations for the police shows that more police presence is not the solution to reducing crime in society. Crime is one of the social problems plaguing the world, and therefore, requires more thought out solutions that address the root causes to solve.  The rate of crime is disproportionately high in low-income neighborhoods than in high-income neighborhoods.  As a result, most violent interactions between the police and civilians occur in such neighborhoods. This implies that it is imperative to address the high rate of crime in such neighborhoods if any progress is to be made.

Poverty is the leading cause of crime in low-income neighborhoods. The desire to get money for vital expenses such as rent, clothing, and food drives several young people to a life of crime.  The problems start from the poor standards of education the children in such neighborhoods are exposed to. Education is one of the equalizers that change the fate of someone in society. However, those growing up in such neighborhoods have access to low-quality education compared to schools in high-end neighborhoods.  It is this access to low-quality education that reduces the children’s chances of success, thereby continuing the vicious cycle of poverty in their areas as few get to advance to their education beyond high school. Thus, the states should channel some of the money currently being allocated to the police to improve education infrastructure in their jurisdictions.

Additionally, some of the money should be used to help the students who cannot afford college and university education. Such opportunities will give most children in such neighborhoods a better chance to escape poverty, thus reducing the cycle of poverty that pushes them into a life of crime.  Investing in education would, therefore, result in a high population of youths who have well-paying jobs and therefore have no need to engage in criminal activities for their basic survival. 

Minimum Wage

More African Americans disproportionately work in low-income minimum wage jobs across the country. The high number of African Americans working for minimum wages stems from factors such as poverty, poor school infrastructure in their neighborhoods, and historical injustices. Due to the rising cost of living in the country, caused by annual rise in the rate of inflation, the income of these workers is no longer able to meet their daily needs. As a result, many young people venture into a life of crime to supplement their income. The trend results in increased cases of crime in such neighborhoods, which consequently increases chances of violent encounters between the police and the people.

            Moreover, offering low minimum wage is not enticing as the rewards that low-income earners may get from crime. States should, therefore, use police defunding to increase the minimum wage for such workers in their area. An increase in the minimum wage would reduce crime for various reasons. First, the benefits of working such jobs would outweigh the risks associated with committing crime such as being incarcerated or killed by the police.  This way, crime rates will drop significantly. Additionally, the money would enable minimum wage workers to pay most of their bills, thus reducing the need for crime.

In April 2016, the council of economic advisers (CEA) for president Obama concluded that raising minimum wage would significantly reduce the level of crime in the country (Employment Policies Institute, 2020). Notably, the council concluded that a raise in minimum wage to $12 an hour would result in a 3 to 5% reduction in the rate of crime in the society. As such, it is important to increase the minimum wage in order to reduce the rate of crime, a factor that would reduce the number of police officers needed to police various states around the country.  Reduction in the number of police officers and patrols would, therefore, free up money for investment in more important social services that aim to reduce the crime rate.

Social services

 Various social services play a fundamental role in reducing the crime rate in the society. Apart from reducing the crime rate, such services would also reduce the chances of violent interaction between the police and the populace they police. Several African Americans were arrested and incarcerated for drug-related charges, such as possession of marijuana. However, various states later legalized the use of marijuana, a crime that had led thousands of young and productive Americans to prison. It is, therefore, essential to focus less on policing, and instead put more emphasis avenues that help both the public and the people committing crimes in the society. 

One of the ways of achieving a holistic outcome is investing in social services. Locking people up has proved unsuccessful due to the high rate of recidivism in the country. For instance, arresting a person suffering from addiction and locking them up in prison serves little purpose since the person is likely to continue using smuggled drugs in prison and in the society after release from prison.  Therefore, it is imperative to take money from the police budgets and invest in social services such as rehabilitation centers across the country.  Such centers should work with emergency numbers, such as 911, and respond to calls of people who need similar services. The unfortunate event of loss of life in Atlanta would have been avoided if professionals from a rehabilitation center responded to the call because the victim was intoxicated.  The centers would not only ensure those suffering from addiction get help but also play a major role in reducing violence since intoxicated people can easily do things that the police can interpret as aggressive and lead to fatal endings.

Additionally, the money can be used to finance groups that also respond to those in mental distress. Police officers responding to such cases have little expertise or experience to handle the situation.  In fact, their aggressive approach can help fuel an already bad situation. As such, having  groups that respond to such mental cases other than the police would be more effective in combating crime. For instance, the expertise of professionals from the centers would help pacify those in distress and link them to the care that matches their needs. Such groups should be financed by money cut from the massive police budgets. 

Furthermore, some of the money can be invested in community policing: the practices of involving the community in police actions, making them work together to solve crimes. Community policing improves trust between the police and the community they are supposed to serve.  Investing in such ventures would significantly reduce unfortunate cases, such as what happened in George Floyd, since the police would treat each person from their community with trust and respect. Additionally, it would reduce the need to have a constant police presence since the community members can freely report those engaging in crime in their neighborhoods.  

 Moreover, investing in social services will reduce the current rising rate of police brutality meted towards African Americans in society. The social services will not only increase the quality of life of those in the community but also ensure the police officers respond to only cases that are serious enough to warrant the response of an armed police officer. Even in cases where such a response is required, there should be an oversight to prevent the current blatant violation of people’s civil liberties at the hand of police officers.

Investing in Job Training  

For years, police reforms have always focused on reducing the harms caused by police on those they should protect in the society, such as emphasizing new training for the police. However, the continued brutality exhibited by some police officers and the racial profiling of their suspects should necessitate new thinking in the way the money is spent.  Racism is a systemic problem deeply entrenched in the police service.  Its deep roots make it impossible to distinguish good officers from those who are silently racist. Therefore, the departments’ failure to live up to expectations should lead to a reduction in their budgets and the money directed to job training in the community.

 Most of the population that engage in crime comprise youths who are jobless because they lack skills that can secure them good employment.  As a result, the youths are idle, which increases their chances of coming across the brutal police.  The states should, therefore, cut the budget of the police officers and use the money to finance job training from the jobless in the society and those already in prisons. Offering job training will impart valuable skills among youths, and thus reduce their chances of committing crime. For those in prison, leaving such facilities with skill will equip them with a way of making an income without going back to a life of crime.

 Additionally, job training will significantly empower those who are jobless and have higher chances of committing crime. Getting jobs through the skills acquired from training will reduce the rate of crime, thus reducing the need for excessive policing as currently witnessed in various communities across the country.  The money will thus be spent on a venture that will, in the long term, increase the living standards of the people in the community through employment, and reduced crime rates, and need for police service.

Conclusion

In conclusion, defunding the police has gained momentum following the death of George Floyd. The huge amount of money spent all over the country has done little to end crime. Instead, it has increased the militarization and aggression of the police towards those they are supposed to protect. It is, therefore, important to defund the police and divest the money in community-benefiting ventures such as offering job training, increasing the minimum wage, investing in better schools, and financing various social services, including rehabilitation centers that benefit and improve the living standards of community members.