What does ‘defund the police’ actually mean? Here are some answers - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

On a steamy afternoon in Minneapolis, a non-veto majority of the Minneapolis City Council took the stage at Powderhorn Park last Sunday and committed to dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department as it currently exists.

It was met with cheers from the droves of supporters in attendance, many of which have been pushing to “defund the police” in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death under the knee of a former Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day.

That phrase has become a rallying cry of sorts as protesters have pushed for radical change.

In the Twin Cities, organizations like Reclaim the Block, Black Visions Collective and MPD150 have been leading the movement to “defund the police” for years. It’s a sentiment that is now being echoed across the the country.

It raises the question: What does “defund the police” actually mean?

There are various interpretations of the phrase itself, ranging from reallocating funds to defunding completely, and thus, abolishing the police department altogether. A common ground is rooted in reimagining what public safety looks like as a whole.

That said, some people hear “abolish the police” and immediately dissent with visions of a lawless society. That’s not at all what is being suggested.

“I think there is this mistake that a lot of folks are making in thinking that we are talking about abolishing safety,” Minneapolis City Council member Jeremiah Ellison said. “We are talking about abolishing failure of a police structure that doesn’t keep us safe.”

HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT?

While the horrific video of Floyd dying on the streets of Minneapolis sparked protests across the globe, activists have been pushing to “defund the police” for much longer than the past couple of weeks.

There is widespread evidence that police disproportionately use force against black people. According to a report from the New York Times, since 2015 police in Minneapolis used force against black people at a rate at least seven times that of white people.

Aside from Floyd, the killings of black men in the Twin Cities at the hands of police notably include Jamar Clark in 2015 and Philando Castile in 2016.

There is an understanding, according to Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender, that the current system does not keep every member of the community safe. Bender said she is committed to changing that.

WHERE WOULD THE MONEY GO?

While there aren’t a lot of specific details about this yet, activists have pushed for reallocating resources, funding and responsibility away from police departments and toward community-based models of safety, support and prevention.

Looking specifically at the MPD, it has a budget of more than $190 million for this year, funds that activists and some elected officials agree would be better suited elsewhere.

“We know based on the evidence that overpolicing, criminalization, mass incarceration have not kept our community safe,” Minneapolis City Council member Phillipe Cunningham said. “In fact, they have made them more unsafe. What we do know that works is the public health approach to public safety. It treats violence as a disease that spreads.”

In theory, the more a city actively invests in certain communities, the less law enforcement will be needed.

“We don’t need more cops,” MPD150 writes on its website. “We need more jobs, more educational opportunities, more arts programs, more community centers, more mental health resources, and more of a say in how our own communities function.”

WHAT WOULD REPLACE THE POLICE?

After analyzing various 911 calls to get a scope of why people call for help, the Minneapolis City Council concluded that the response system should be more nuanced than it is right now.

“We know a lot of those calls shouldn’t be answered by an armed police officer,” Bender said. “In fact, sometimes that makes the situation worse.”

Thus, if Minneapolis were to abolish the police, first responders would take on different forms with people best-equipped to deal with different crises. Instead of an armed police officer showing up in every scenario, some alternatives could include mental health providers, social workers and victim advocates arriving on the scene.

“If we look at what’s in place right now, calling the police is not safe for everyone,” MPD150 member Molly Glasgow said. “We need to establish community-based systems that give everyone someone safe and trustworthy to call.”

It’s worth noting that the Minneapolis City Council has offered very few details on what this looks like down the road. They have committed to at least a year of engagement with members of the community to develop a plan.

“We know it won’t happen overnight and we know it has to center all of the voices of our community,” Bender said. “The answers do not lie in the (city council). They lie in our community.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is on record saying he does not support a full abolishment of the police department and instead wants to focus on reform.

WHO RESPONDS TO VIOLENT CRIMES?

This is undoubtedly the biggest question that arises when talking about abolishing the police. There are countless people who wonder: What happens if someone is robbing my house?

To that point, the Minneapolis City Council has acknowledged there will still be people who respond to violent crimes, even if they aren’t called police. Even organizations like MPD150 acknowledge that “this long transition process” could call for “a small specialized class of public servants” whose job it is to respond to violent crimes.

There have been studies that show less policing can lead to less crime, though some would argue this evidence is anecdotal.

HAVE OTHER CITIES TRIED THIS?

Perhaps the most notable example of a city dissolving its police force comes from Camden, N.J. It disbanded its police department in 2012, shifting to more community policing with training that emphasizes de-escalation.

It might be the only place in the country that comes close to providing an example for what the Minneapolis City Council is vowing to do.

There has been widespread praise for Camden as a poster child for abolishing the police, with crime dropping by close to half. That said, some residents say many of the problems it was designed to fix remain unsolved.

Elsewhere, the pilot program RIGHT Care put a police officer, a paramedic and a social worker in every car responding to mental health calls in an area of Dallas in an attempt to get people the help they needed without an arrest or violent confrontation. It led to a drop in arrests in the area.

As for right now, some cities have committed to divesting over the past couple of weeks. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to shift money from the NYPD to youth programs and social-services programs, though he hasn’t clarified how much. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has agreed to slash up to $150 million from the LAPD.

WHERE DOES ST. PAUL STAND?

Most of the St. Paul City Council does not favor abolishing the police department. That said, St. Paul City Council members Nelsie Yang and Mitra Jalali say they do.

“You have to defund the police to make money available to fund the things that keep us safe,” said Jalali, who supports defunding the department over time to reach abolition. “I hear very overwhelmingly from my ward and other parts of the city that folks want to be safe. They don’t equate that with wanting more police.”

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What does ‘defund the police’ actually mean? Here are some answers - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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