The right wing media and pundits have pounced on ‘defund the police’ as a way to spreading alarm and fear by completely misconstruing what most people see as its meaning. And at this point the defund the police argument has been explained so often I can only take the alarmist statements on the part of right wingers is actually just wilful ignorance – right wingers are purposely been ignorant because otherwise they would have to debate rationally and they know they can’t. They want to keep it simple and simplistic – police or no police But like most things in actually real life things are not that simplistic The idea based on a simple question – What role should police be playing in society, even as their departments are taking up enormous chunks of cash-strapped municipal budgets? Police officers have become the go-to first responders for a host of social problems that might be better left to other professionals, many argue. And it has even pointed out by Police officers themselves that they are asked to function as social workers, family counsellors, or crisis managers. What has happened is the police have had to step in to deal with the consequences of neoliberal policies that defund social services which has seen police budgets to balloon. What is been suggested is that funds be reallocated back to funding social services so the police can get back to tackle the things they should be tackling.
It means no more blank checks for their high tech bullshit toys. License Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Pennsylvanians' MovementsLicense Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Pennsylvanians' Movements Philando Castile's trouble with traffic stops began when he still had his learner's permit. He was stopped a day before his 19th birthday. From there, he descended into a seemingly endless cycle of traffic stops, fines, court appearances, late fees, revocations and reinstatements in various jurisdictions. Cycles Of Traffic Stops, Fines And Suspensions Between July 2002 and his death in July 2016, Philando Castile was stopped by police at least 46 times. Some traffic stops kicked off months- and years-long spirals of fines, driver’s license suspensions and more traffic stops that Castile would eventually pay off or settle in court. He was most often cited for driving on a suspended license or lacking proof of insurance. An NPR analysis of those records shows that the 32-year-old cafeteria worker who was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in a St. Paul, Minn., suburb, was stopped by police 46 times and racked up more than $6,000 in fines. Another curious statistic: Of all of the stops, only six of them were things a police officer would notice from outside a car — things like speeding or having a broken muffler. The records show that Castile spent most of his driving life fighting tickets. Three months after that first stop, for example, his license was suspended and he went into his first spiral: Police stopped him on Jan. 8, 2003. They stopped him on Feb. 3 and on Feb. 12 and Feb. 26 and on March 4. Dash Camera Shows Moment Philando Castile Is Shot
2 things that would really help the toxic police culture . no more military weapons. You are not trained properly if basic riot gear and pistols can't get the job done. This is not Iraq and all those urban assault vehicles and advanced gear they have are not cheap. Even to own 1. They are literally designed for combat scenarios you never see in America. Cops LOVE to think they will see it though. It feeds into the victim complex. The world is so mean to them they have to have a security blanket. Stay in the Army if you want to play with your toy trucks they will let you if you are willing to travel to hot climates. . no more funding for drug crimes. It's a health issue not a criminal one and the people stopping crime don't need a cent for it. They can show up at the house the heroin user robbed to deal with that part. Not to simply arrest the user for being a user.
Your question brings up an interesting point and its why I often use the term LEO rather than police, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, not crisis mitigation specialist, not a first responder to a parenting problem and certainly not social workers, family counselors, or crisis managers cops are not nor should they be trained for that
I strongly disagree with disbanding rifles for police. Law enforcement has always been as armed as the general populace. The AR is the most popular rifle in the civilian market. So it only makes sense that police have rifles too. Even in countries with stricter gun laws have rifles for either the average police officer or those in special teams like SWAT.
Without properly funding the police? Who’s going to arrest people for offensive tweets and hateful speech?
I believe that it's a purposely vague catch phrase meant to pacify the angry public. It's something they can shout at protests and post on social media, but lacks the specificity to actually move the needle in any meaningful way. It's a tool. It keeps the public busy arguing over what it means while nothing changes in any meaningful way
