There were a few initiatives in a few large cities, but largely police budgets have not dropped, and in most cases have increased since 2020.
It’s important to remember that in the US policing is incredibly fractured. Most cities in the US have at least 4 or so independent agencies that have jurisdiction (transit, county sheriff, city pd, state patrol), it’s entirely possible that there are more in many places. This makes it hard to know if police are funded or not
No, there wasn't. There were groups of activists pushing that message, and it was loudly broadcast by partisan media seeking to tie those activists to mainstream politicians. The cities where such activists were particularly loud elected mayors and municipal attorneys opposed by those activists (e.g., New York, Portland, Seattle). Police budgets remain intact.
"Defund the police" is a widely misunderstood message.
But I don't blame people for misunderstanding it. As much as I agree with the left, they suck at coming up with slogans. "Black Lives Matter" should have been "Black Lives Matter Too", but I digress...
"Defund the police" was supposed to really mean two things:
1. Stop sending police to handle cases they are not trained to handle, such as drugged out people wigging out on the street. Police should only be sent if deadly force may be required to handle the solution.
2. Hold police accountable. The cop that show Brianna Taylor should be in prison for murder. The cops involved in the death of Freddie Gray should be in prison for manslaughter. The cop that shot Daniel Shaver should be in prison for murder. Instead, either the DA doesn't press charges, or the judge is just as corrupt as the police and sabotages the case. For example, the judge in the Daniel Shaver shooting did not allow the body cam footage to be shown to the jury, an act that is inexcusable.
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Without reading the article or data, but wasn't there a huge push in the US to defund the police? Did that go anywhere?
There were a few initiatives in a few large cities, but largely police budgets have not dropped, and in most cases have increased since 2020.
It’s important to remember that in the US policing is incredibly fractured. Most cities in the US have at least 4 or so independent agencies that have jurisdiction (transit, county sheriff, city pd, state patrol), it’s entirely possible that there are more in many places. This makes it hard to know if police are funded or not
No, there wasn't. There were groups of activists pushing that message, and it was loudly broadcast by partisan media seeking to tie those activists to mainstream politicians. The cities where such activists were particularly loud elected mayors and municipal attorneys opposed by those activists (e.g., New York, Portland, Seattle). Police budgets remain intact.
Yes there was. It didnt't go far. Anywhere it did saw huge spikes in crime. Imagine that.
"Defund the police" is a widely misunderstood message.
But I don't blame people for misunderstanding it. As much as I agree with the left, they suck at coming up with slogans. "Black Lives Matter" should have been "Black Lives Matter Too", but I digress...
"Defund the police" was supposed to really mean two things:
1. Stop sending police to handle cases they are not trained to handle, such as drugged out people wigging out on the street. Police should only be sent if deadly force may be required to handle the solution.
2. Hold police accountable. The cop that show Brianna Taylor should be in prison for murder. The cops involved in the death of Freddie Gray should be in prison for manslaughter. The cop that shot Daniel Shaver should be in prison for murder. Instead, either the DA doesn't press charges, or the judge is just as corrupt as the police and sabotages the case. For example, the judge in the Daniel Shaver shooting did not allow the body cam footage to be shown to the jury, an act that is inexcusable.