To Defund the Police or not?

The call to “defund the police” has been a highly controversial and polarizing issue in recent years, with passionate arguments on both sides. On one hand, supporters of the movement argue that policing as an institution in the United States and Canada is fundamentally flawed and needs drastic reform.

They argue that the police are too militarized, too violent, and too quick to use force, particularly against people of colour and other marginalized communities, an opinion which is unfortunately supported by current data.

Moreover, proponents of defunding the police argue that police departments receive an outsized share of city budgets, while other social services, such as education, healthcare, and housing, are underfunded. They argue that redirecting some of the funds from police departments to social services will help address the root causes of crime, such as poverty and lack of opportunity, and ultimately make communities safer.

On the other hand, opponents of the movement argue that defunding the police will lead to chaos and lawlessness, and that police departments are essential to maintaining public safety. They point to the rising crime rates in some cities, such as New York City, Chicago, Toronto and Hamilton as evidence that police departments need more funding, not less.

In my opinion, there is no doubt that policing in North America needs to be reformed. The United States, for instance, has one of the highest rates of police violence in the developed world, and people of colour are disproportionately affected. Additionally, the focus on policing as the primary solution to crime has not been effective in addressing the root causes of crime, such as poverty and lack of opportunity. We still have drugs. We still have thefts. We still have murders.

However, I do not believe that ‘defunding’ the police is the solution. Instead, we need to reallocate a percentage of the funds from police departments to other social services that can specifically help to address the root causes of crime. At the same time, we need to ensure that police departments are adequately funded to carry out their core functions of protecting public safety.

Moreover, we need to focus on reforming the police from within. This means implementing policies that address police brutality, racial profiling, and other forms of misconduct, as well as improving police training and hiring practices. The ‘independent’ bodies that investigating wrongdoing in our police services, it would appear more often than not, are far from independent.

We also need to rethink the role of the police in our society and consider alternatives to traditional policing, such as community-based policing and restorative justice programs.

The call to defund the police has rightly brought much-needed attention to the problems faced by policing models in North America. While I do not believe that a full defunding of police is the solution, we do need to reallocate resources and implement reforms to create a more just and equitable system of policing.