Defund Police Movement what’s it all about?

Written by CWP in Public Service

The slogan “Defund the police” was raised after the incident of George Floyd’s brutal killing. The defund police movement was introduced in the year 2020 to react to unjust killings of black people. Defund the police slogan has a message/appeal to relocate the funds to non-policing public support and security forms.

Defund doesn’t mean to abolish policing at all but to relocate the funds to other government development agencies. The activists who even scream to abolish policing also do not mean to break any law enforcement orders. In fact, they want to see the black sheep wearing police uniforms be replaced with those who genuinely know their duties towards the public.

Why do people feel to defund the police movement, and why many activists support this campaign? To know whether this is just an exaggeration or these kinds of incidents have become a new norm, have a look at the details mentioned below.

Are Protestors Using Victim Card to Fulfill Unjustified Demands?

Some people believe that there is no department where everything is crystal clear without wrongs. The same thing must apply to policing as well, and one bad incident should not make you forget all the hardships cops go through to protect the state’s people.

There is no doubt that no place in the entire world is 100 percent corruption-free. What we need to observe is what the ratio of corruption is in a particular agency? In hospitals, we often get to know that the doctor has taken the kidney out of a poor patient.

These kinds of mishaps are widespread in developing countries, but should you stop funding all the doctors who fulfill their duties with honesty? Of course, not! But the thing is, when you know about someplace where it has become a common practice to take the unfair benefit of a position, there you must stand against it.

In the case of the police department, just a few incidents did not mean that the whole department is doing the same unjust.

The following part of this blog is not the views of Community Watch Paper we just try to give all sides of the argument so you can decide.

Should You Support Defund Police Movement?

Many cops do fulfill their duties with complete zeal and zest to provide protection and security to individuals.

The publicly humiliating incidents, teasing, hurting, and even killing black lives have gone far enough. Even minors are not safe from brutal inspection of cops when they are not proven guilty. When we talk about George Floyd’s case, it would be entirely different if the white man was killed.

To provide justice to this innocent killing, it took months of protest of many Americans. Despite having all the pieces of evidence clearly stating that the subject who was killed was innocent, the cop was guilty of performing a wrongful act. Still, there was no legal action taken for so many months. The police department is showing white supremacy for a pretty long time.

We are not against those who fulfill their duties and are unbiased when it comes to protecting individuals. But there should be new hiring of those who are not racist, and until then, we support the defund police movement. What are the other reasons? Have a look at the details below.

Support of White Supremacy

The police department is entirely biased and racist and doesn’t act neutral at all. In America, night watches and US slave patrols started the racist law enforcement system created to secure capital for the white people.

For forty years, a visible expansion of racially targeted policing, like the “war on drugs,” has supported America’s fuel mass creation.

Many brown and black individuals are targeted from a very young age, with hundreds of children whose ages are from six to fourteen years get arrested. It usually happens in schools where the police officers stationed as school resource officers punish innocent children.

It has been observed in schools that even the jokes of little kids who are black can be taken as an offense to the fellow students. On the other hand, white children are free to bully the black without fear of being punished. These practices must be stopped, and all children are equal, just like all humans are equal.

So, it is not the police who are showing the example of racism, but it is the society that is teaching the way one should treat others on the basis of their colors. It would not be wrong to say that racism starts at school.

No Protection At All Anymore

Millions of dollars are spent on police funding each year. Despite spending such an immense amount of money on police funding, thousands of people are still killed by gun violence. In the year 2019, there were more than 15000 killings reportedly recorded due to gun violence.

Not a surprise anymore; the majority were brown and black, who were the victims. There is exceptionally unjust violence in the police departments and in prisons. If this very thing gets eliminated from the police department, America would be one of the world’s most peaceful states.

The state collects equal tax amounts from black and brown people collected by white individuals. It is fair enough for black people to demand the same security and protection that white people get.

Unfortunately, it has been observed for decades that white supremacy seems to run in the blood of racists. To live with safety and peace is each individual’s right, and it should not be limited to white lives only.

We need to filter out those institutions that do not intend to get people there and provide the resources created to provide safe, healthy, and peaceful communities.

Body Cameras are Just Apparels

In most of America’s cities, body cameras were implemented as a multimillion-dollar response to Obama’s administration. It was introduced to call for the accountability of police which was proved to be completely ineffective. Body cams seem nothing more than a part of the police uniform as, most of the time, they are turned off.

So, no need to wear it as apparel as it is not even turned on to record what the cop is doing. It doesn’t seem to eliminate or reduce the unreasonable behavior of cops. Instead, it increases the surveillance of those who are policed. The pieces of training given to police have exposed there is no demonstrable effect.

In Chicago, it was leaked out that the officers who were accusing the abuse happened to be the team leads in training. When we talk about community policing, even this idea has poorly failed where the idea of people and police should work together was discussed. In fact, this practice ended up deputizing wealthy and white people to servile the brown and black neighbors.

Sadly, it results in more biased actions taken by police based on their racist beliefs and attitudes.

Educational and Health Departments are More Deserving

Each year more than 100 million dollars are spent on funding policing. Other institutions like education, housing, and health care go unfulfilled. It usually happens in specific communities, especially where skin color is the actual cause.

For instance, take the example of New York City. Every year, a considerable amount is spent on policing than homeless services, housing preservation, youth and community development, and health departments.

People highly demand that their hard-earned money must not be used in killing black people. Instead, it should be reallocated to those programs that strengthen the deserving communities.

Tax Amounts should be Invested in Non-Racist Alternatives.

People highly demand to reallocate the funding from policing to the health care communities. It simply means that majority wants to transfer the valuable resources to transforming support survivors who are the victims of mental health. People are no more willing to be a helping hand for those who offer harm through community-based systems.

Physical and mental health care communities need more funding to better state’ people where there is no discrimination. Defunding policing is a step that can be taken to prevent innocent killings. It will also release the resources and public imagination to be more humane and just towards people.

People now highly demand to achieve shared well-being and unbiased safety for all communities despite being black, brown, or white.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it essential to defund the police?

Police have diverted billions of dollars from educational institutes, health care departments, and many other programs. The department asks for more funds to strengthen the community and provide support to the community. Therefore, it is essential to defund the community as they are already getting a high amount.

Does Defund The Police Mean Abolish The Police?

Well, abolish the police does not mean abolish and similarly defund the police does not defund the police.

Defund the police mean to bring some police reforms and protect the Black people and brown people. The primary aim of this slogan is to protect the people against police violence.

Why Defund The Police Is Not A Good Idea?

The idea can create adverse effects on society. The protesters stress the existing officers and force them to quit their jobs. By this idea, the officers would no longer be able to perform their duties. It is a way to make the police department ineffective. Therefore, it can have adverse effects on society, and it seems to be a terrible idea.

Where Did Defund The Police Come From?

The slogan becomes very common during May 2020, after the death of George Floyd. The slogan got famous in a short time. Most NGOs and many other activists use this slogan to reduce the police’s budget and stop performing their illegal duties.

Has Any Police Department Been Defunded?

Twenty years back, officials in Calif, Vallejo, took the strict measures, just the same way as at present-day all of these activists are urging to take. The officials defended the police department as 20 people were killed in this small city. Moreover, many other cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Baltimore have also defended the police.

Conclusion

The police department used to work so hard to bring peace and harmony to society. Just because of just a few elements, you cannot declare that the whole department is corrupt or involved in cruel killings or racism.

There is no doubt that the police are a natural body, and the officers are working just for their people regardless of their incentives or benefits. The department is making efforts to make the state the most peaceful country, even when facing a lot of criticism and hate each day.

Just like the other departments, the police department needs funds. So, defunding would not be an option as the department is trying hard to bring the reforms to establish a peaceful society where everyone can enjoy equal rights. CWP

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