Postby jellowrestling » Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:13 am
And then:
Will defunding the police come to pass?
It's radical for an American city to operate without law enforcement, but the plan is already in motion in Minneapolis.
On Sunday, nine members of the Minneapolis city council announced they intend to disband the city's police force entirely.
"We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe," Council President Lisa Bender told CNN.
Bender said the council still needs to discuss what to replace police with, but that the city would funnel money from police into "community-based strategies." She noted, too, that most 911 calls are for mental health services, health and EMT and fire services.
Defunding is simpler than disbanding, though, and at least one mayor's already taken that step. After Californians decried a proposal to increase the Los Angeles Police Department budget to $1.86 billion, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti agreed to slash between $100 million to $150 million from the proposed funding.
It's not a significant dent in the budget, but it's proof that officials are listening, Bryan said.
"A week ago, defunding the police in any capacity would sound like 'pie in the sky,'" he said. "Now we're talking about it. Defunding police in its entirety still might sound like 'pie in the sky,' but next week might be different."