“Defund the police” is a slogan that supports divesting funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and other community resources.
@ISIDEWITH4yrs4Y
No
@9GMWYWY 7mos7MO
Top Agreement
Law Enforcement is a necessary department in our society. No we should not defund nor should we abolish the police. This is quite frankly a childish argument. Assuming that just because one cop is bad, the same goes for all the others is a bigoted belief. It's similar as to when an individual has one bad encounter with someone of the other race so their mind believes that the entire race behaves the same way.
The police need intense reform because of their countless and continuous unjust actions against minority groups.
It fails to acknowledge that the 'ACAB' stance is not based on just a few bad cops, but the belief that the police organization is systemically built in a way that encourages or at the very least upholds Bigotry (most prominently Racism, but other examples such as ableism and classism are apart of the system are well). While there is a place for police in society, it is not as an occupying military as they currently are.
@9GMXS8GIndependent7mos7MO
As some cops are bad most are doing good and protecting our civil rights and protecting us from all of the harm America. Has as some cops are bad increasing funding for Cops is key as the good outweighs the bad.
@9GLZYLN 7mos7MO
The idea to defund the police is absolutely insane, what would that ever accomplish. Police are here to protect, and they cant do that if they don't have any money. people are saying that police "need more training" and that we also need to "defund the police" which police can't get more training, IF THEY HAVE NO MONEY. police don't shoot people because their black, police are not racist, every single video i have ever seen of someone getting shot by the cops, there is a damn good reason for it.
@VulcanMan6 7mos7MO
Police are here to protect the interests of capital, not necessarily the public, and the courts have confirmed this already that police have no actual obligation to protect the public. That is why people say that the police, as a structural institution, needs to be abolished and replaced entirely with another form of community security that is actually designed by and for the public good.
Secondly, if you think all police killings are justified, then you're probably just a very pro-state authoritarian person to begin with, so it's not surprising why you would defend state violence.
@9GM2GSK 7mos7MO
The police are a tool of oppression by a government ruled by the rich. If the police don’t scare you, why own a gun? The second Amendment exists for a reason. Cops kill.
@9GM26BW7mos7MO
Police laws are proven to be working to help the economy but the workers who train to become police. Don't believe this to be true, police are looking to have fun catching bad guys other than protect us from negative individuals.
@9GYTV2N 6mos6MO
Top Disagreement
Community is such an important part of being mentally healthy. America does not really value community historically and this is something that should change. If kids were able to find somewhere they really belong and make meaningful connections they would be less likely to commit crimes later in life.
@9GYVTJVConstitution6mos6MO
but what if you lived in a place where the cops were defunded and your house got broken into and when you called the cops they put you on HOLD cuz they got no money
@VulcanMan6 6mos6MO
We wouldn't need to worry about these kind of petty crimes if we actually had well-funded public services and social safety nets that guaranteed access to food, shelter, healthcare, education, transportation, etc. instead of continuing to fund the militarization of the police at the public's expense. Defunding the police won't help on its own, that's why we ALSO need to redirect and increase funding into other public services as well.
@9H3TJNQRepublican 6mos6MO
Defunding the police would cause chaos. More drugs and theft more murders. Defunding them will mean there will be less. The city of Toledo has had 34 homicides this year already that is 3 a month. Not including all the fights home invasions robberies arsons.
@ISIDEWITH4yrs4Y
Yes
@HouseofMouse 5mos5MO
Top Agreement
There have been many cases to support why defunding would be necessary, such as the death of George Floyd. Although there are cops that claim he was a threat, they handled that claim by suffocating him. As well as this, the creation of Cop City in Atlanta has alarmed people due to its frightening nature.
@9HP7387 5mos5MO
What's the alternative to police? If you have an emergency, an intruder in your home, or you see somebody get shot, who would you call to help? If the police are defunded, there won't be as many officers to reply and arrive to the scene fast enough, there will be a limited amount of squad cars, and there won't be enough money for proper training for the officers. Neighborhood watch communities can only do so much, the police can end conflict in an efficient manner.
@9HPG7KG5mos5MO
Here's the deal.
LEOs are NOT legally responsible for the service or protection of civilians, as per US Supreme Court.
LEOs are supposed to report or react to a crime.
Our second amendment is what we use.
A well run militia, NOT army or guard.
The younger generation has No Clue what 2nd class citizens, much less a 3rd world without an infrastructure any more.
@9HMYJZQRepublican5mos5MO
The police department is built to keep us safe and does a pretty good job at it. Defunding it just puts us in more danger and leaves innocent people having to wait longer to receive help.
@9HN5BKJ5mos5MO
George Floyd was a convicted criminal and was a threat at the time, the restraint was necessary and people should not idolize this behavior, especially criminals.
@9HL4V9FRepublican5mos5MO
The police are here to protect us. They use the best judgement they have and everyone needs to remember that the police are just humans. They make mistakes but they should not be defunded because of only a handful of situations. The police force has done much more good for our country then bad.
@HouseofMouse 5mos5MO
The police system is one of many concepts that work better in theory, rather than in practice because of who fills those roles. If it were a more local standpoint I could potentially see myself backing this system, but because of the various reports of minorities being treated with more brutality than someone who's white, I'm strongly against supporting such a cause. I'm much more willing to support a system like firefighters as they choose to protect any individual, regardless of their gender and/or race. It's important to keep in mind that these individuals are human, which also means that their actions are reflected in their beliefs and views of the world, which can mean that they treat their citizens with kindness, but it can also lead to racial profiling in many cases.
@9GZQ2JMWomen’s Equality6mos6MO
Police kill so many innocent civilians by being hostile, aggressive, or just misinterpreting circumstances and not taking the time to understand them.
@9FDY58Y8mos8MO
i think that is one of the dumbest things we could do, without police criminals will overun everything because theres no fear factor of getting caught without police.
@HouseofMouse 5mos5MO
That statement in itself demonstrates the fear that the police system instills in people, especially minorities.
@9GZP5PQProgressive6mos6MO
I believe the funds for the police could be used more wisely. That money could be used for other programs within the department, such as mental health officers, officers that specialize in homelessness, family and domestic abuse issues, deescalation training, less deadly weapons, retraining of officers with less deadly weapons, community policing partnerships and so much more.
@ISIDEWITH4yrs4Y
No, increase funding and training for police departments in higher crime rate communities
@9FVW5ZMRepublican 8mos8MO
Top Agreement
Studies have been done that show increased police patrol lowers crime. In most communities, there is an average response time leading to the best outcome for victims. Increasing police presence reduces overall response times and gets them to the scene faster to help whatever potential victim is in need of service. Higher quality training leads to better officers and should include community input.
@9FVXP3Q8mos8MO
No, police are stupid, but they need more funding for more training ao they don’t do dumb things like kill people
@8ZKNSCPConstitution7mos7MO
If the police isn't there to protect citizens, then who else is going to protect them? "Oh but the community!" They won't be there forever and there'll come to a point where you have to take into prospective that most of the corruption comes from the unions of the police and NOT the cops themselves.
@9GKKBPM7mos7MO
why defund the police, without them who would keep people safe? we need the police to protect us. not only that, but why would they carry nonlethal weapons? if they do, they would die because the person they are trying to detain will not hesitate to kill them, because they have a gun.
@9GKJNBXRepublican7mos7MO
I wish to not defund the police but to continue to aid them. They have brought life, liberties, and uphold the law for the citizens of the United States. There are those that don't show integrity and leadership characteristics that are in the workforce but I don't consider them to even be apart of the police force. The cruelty does not talk for the citizens and the children. The love and care does.
@9GKHWTZWomen’s Equality7mos7MO
police officers provide more protection in communties them people thin l not gonna lie sometimes you have officers that would rather cause more problems then prevent them but there are tons of officers that try to keep the communtiy safe and provide equality and if needed they will use brut force.
@9G3Q3TSRepublican 7mos7MO
With increased funding officers would have access to better training so they could handle delicate situations better.
@9G3Y2647mos7MO
No, police are stupid, but they need more funding for more training ao they don’t do dumb things like kill people
@9G3XPVY7mos7MO
I completely agree, Police officers deserve more funding as crime rates may escalate if they find flaws in training.
@9G3YQPS7mos7MO
Instead of giving them more funding to teach keep the same funding reduce the amount of aggressive training and increase the training for de-escalating the situation they spend 107 hours on firearms and defensive tactical training and 8 hours on de-escalation.
@9HQBQJD 5mos5MO
If we allow for an increase in funding and training, not only would it allow for communities to be safer, but it'd allow the police to become more prepared for more situations.
@9HQDDVWIndependent 5mos5MO
This is spot on. People commenting police funding without any understanding of the system are very ignorant. Lack of funding to appropriately pay officers and provide training leads to the compromises in hiring and training. This is the most apparent in big cities with high cost of living and low pay. High crime, low pay, inexperienced officers, low quality of life, and officers who stay long enough to get experience leave to a different department in a cheaper place with a better community with less crime.
@ISIDEWITH4yrs4Y
Yes, replace police with unarmed community based responders for non-violent calls
@9HKT69S 5mos5MO
Top Disagreement
This would lead to an increase in crime and likely put those unarmed community-based responders in danger whether or not they are responding to non-violent calls. Replacing police with these community responders would also be grossly inefficient and allow many more criminals to get away with crimes that real, trained police officers would likely be able to handle. When discussing the "defund the police" idea, you have to keep in mind that there are corrupt individuals in all professions. Just because specific police officers involved in various acts of corruption happen to be racist… Read more
Removed by author8mos8MO
A non-violent situation could turn into a violent situation at any point, and if a responder is unarmed, they have little means of defending themselves.
@9FRPBVLRepublican8mos8MO
I agree with this statement because if police have less funds then it will only allow for more dangerous people to get away with their crimes.
@9FRP93W8mos8MO
I think it would be stupid to defund the police. If we have too many dumb police, then made a test that proves you can bear the badge and hold the gun with the upmost respect. If I were to try and commit heinous acts, how could a cop stop me from shooting people. What are they going to do? Bring a sword and shield?! It is ignorant and stupid to think people want the police gone.
@9FRPNNG8mos8MO
I absolutely agree with this comment. All police officers should have access to a patrol rifle and of course their service pistol. In a country where people have relatively easy access to rifles, I believe that an officer should have the upper hand in any firefight. As the old saying goes; "If you come to a fight equally matched, you are underprepared."
@9FRNWD6Republican8mos8MO
The police should not be defunded. They are the core protecting factor of our nation and are a necessary part of keeping sanity in America.
@9G7K8MS 7mos7MO
The police need to be funded MORE, but I am not opposed to community responders bc that will free up the police to handle real problems
@9GDQ539 7mos7MO
If you think it would be cool to live in basically a purge city then go for thinking that's a good option. This is why our nation is going downhill.
@9GDR26Z 7mos7MO
We Shouldn't defund the police. The police need training on dealing with high-crisis situations involving the opposite race. And the police Department should not uphold their policemen when they have done something wrong.
@WondrousOppositionGreen7mos7MO
Training is key to improving police-community relations. In Camden, New Jersey, the police department was disbanded and restructured with an emphasis on community policing and de-escalation training. As a result, violent crime reduced significantly.
@9GDRDMV7mos7MO
I disagree. Without the police, we would basically be defenseless. Sure, we have guns to defend ourselves but if they are going to try and defund our police, then what will stop them from taking away our right to own guns? And for all of the people trying to defund the police, think about that as someone breaks into your house or tries to hurt you and your family and think about who your going to call to protect your family because with the way our country is going, our police won't be there to do that.
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