Defunding the Police Advances Radical Political Philosophies

 I recently read that more than 80% of prisoners support the current movement to defund the police. I'm not entirely shocked by this statistic, but I do wonder how relevant it is. That's like polling poor people to find out if they support welfare programs. Of course, people who are likely to benefit the most are going to express support for programs or movements that sound appealing to them. Many prisoners likely believe that defunding the police would mean less accountability to authorities after leaving prison. 

To be fair, some prisoners may be simply reacting to frustrations over mishandled cases or police and judicial misconduct, experienced both personally and within their communities. It happens far more often than the general public thinks. Not all misconduct is intentional. Some is oversight or miscommunication. But since both police and prosecutors enjoy either qualified or absolute immunity, there is little to no accountability when misconduct is intentional. When the public is held to one standard of conduct but people in power are protected from those standards, it understandably creates animosity among those who are punished for their misconduct. 

Nevertheless, people who support calls to defund the police rarely think through the implications of such an action. Their support is, understandably, reactionary to police misconduct, corruption, and violence against members of the public. For people in minority communities, defunding the police may be especially appealing. These communities have historically suffered the most from police brutality. But these communities are now also suffering the most from the exploding rates of violence and murder in their cities due to reductions in police forces from funding cuts. Those who depend on protection from the police no longer have any reliable options to prevent, interrupt, avoid, or escape violence in their communities. 

We clearly need some drastic changes in how police are trained, what weapons they are supplied with, how they engage with communities, and especially in how (or if!) they are held legally accountable for misconduct. We also need more investment in prevention and treatment within communities rather than throwing more money at enforcement and imprisonment. Militarizing our police and increasing incarceration rates will not help keep communities safe nor help them heal. But let's also be clear about what the defund the police movement is. It is a movement that takes advantage of the tragedies experienced by some black families (like George Floyd's) in order to advance a Marxist agenda in this country. 

In a recent article in "The Abolitionist" (Summer 2021), the author reveals that in addition to expanding community-based safety strategies, "defunding the police is also an anti-capitalist organizing strategy." The author further notes that defunding the police means to strike at the root of socio-economic and political forces that have harmed, primarily, minority communities. 

Addressing socio-economic and political policies and practices that have historically disadvantaged or harmed minority communities is very important. Siphoning funding from schools to pay for policing and prisons is one such political policy that reinforces inequality and especially harms minority families and communities. But defunding or abolishing the police also harms families and communities, as skyrocketing violent crime in Portland, Oregon has shown over the last several months. 

Tragedies, such as George Floyd's death, should not be used as political weapons to advance political philosophies. The last time that happened in a major way, the 9/11 tragedy was used to justify stripping Americans from their Constitutional right to privacy through the over-reaching Patriot Act. 

We must address police brutality and America's obsession with incarceration as a primary strategy for addressing crime. But so far, criminals are the ones winning the war for our streets, not those who have a utopian vision of safe communities with no police presence.