Defunding the Police: Safety for Citizens

Defunding the police refers to the re-allocation of funds from the department (Patel, 2020). Individuals who support this strategy do not mean the abolishment of policing, but they want to see corrections in the system. A good example is Camden’s case in New Jersey when the institution disbanded the police force and dissolved a local police organization. Defunding the police aims at utilizing taxpayers’ money effectively and ensuring that citizens receive better services. The effort remarkably has potential benefits that would eliminate police violence or crime. Since the police system evolved from slave patrols, it has never been a neutral department, as evident from brutality cases such as the murder of George Floyd (Patel, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to support the argument that defunding the police is the right approach as it would make citizens safer.

The idea of defunding the police could be new to some people, but the central premise is apparent: re-allocating resources should be done based on more helpful programs. The amount that the government spends on policing services should be cut and diverted to services such as training or counseling and violence prevention tactics. Every year, both local and state governments spend more than $100 billion on law enactment practices (Patel, 2020). However, contrary to reasonable police servicing expectations, millions of citizens continue to suffer under enforced laws. Budgets can be changed by organizing the allocation of funds to stop the acquisition of militarized tools and instead have the public resources supporting community violence prevention efforts. Through targeted advocacy, public members can demand police defunding to support counseling in schools.

For a long time, channeling many resources into the police system has caused significant harm to the public. Typically, police brutality is cited as the major cause of death of people of color (Patel, 2020). Recent studies show that one in a thousand black people can expect to be harshly treated by the police force, while health professionals cite that police violence is a serious issue (Patel, 2020). For a country that considers ideals of democracy, justice, and freedom for everyone, the number of individuals who have suffered at the hands of police is shocking. Public money enables police to funneling into communities where people of color face unnecessary arrests for minor offenses and mishandling as though they are not humans. Spending on the policing system has outpaced that allocated to other community services such as education programs or violence prevention- institutions that could help build a safer and healthier society.

The government’s approach to throwing more police officers into the communities to solve the structural issue is why individuals protest in the streets. Much taxpayer money is used to hire training and deploy police units, but this turns into a social problem between citizens and the law (Patel, 2020). Defunding police and using the money to support community programs where police officers are integrated to enlighten citizens on moral behaviors can be considered reasonable. Incorporating crime prevention programs is an excellent alternative because early intervention should be every officer’s goal in the department.

To conclude, the police force cannot operate without necessary support with vital resources. However, too much has been utilized, yielding no substantial outcome instead more police deployment in communities destabilizes peace with citizens. In that case, defunding police is vital, and the money should be refocused on more effective strategies. The resources can be used to equip healthcare facilities and schools which at long will help in the development of the nation.

Reference

Patel, L. (2020). What does it mean to defund the police? Web.