11:45 p.m. ET, June 6, 2020
Protesters are calling to defund the police. What does this mean?
From CNN's Scottie Andrew
Demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue on June 6, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
There's a growing group of dissenters who believe Americans can survive without law enforcement as we know it. America, those dissenters believe, may even be better off without it.
The
solution to police brutality and racial inequalities in policing is simple, supporters say: Just defund police.
What does this actually mean? This proposal means instead of funding a police department, a sizable chunk of a city's budget is invested in communities, especially marginalized ones where much of the policing occurs.
The movement is a spectrum: Some supporters want to reallocate some, but not all, funds away from police departments to social services. Some want to strip all police funding and dissolve departments.
Both interpretations center on reimagining what public safety looks like.
It also means dismantling the idea that police are "public stewards" meant to protect communities, since many black communities and people of color feel unprotected by police, said Philip McHarris, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Yale University and lead research and policy associate at the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability.
What about implementing reforms? Police trainings and body cameras haven't brought about the change supporters want -- and often, communities don't feel safe calling the police when they face real threats of danger and violence. Growing up, McHarris instead relied on neighbors who helped him navigate these threats.
What if, he said, those people could provide the same support they showed him on a full-time basis?
So where would the funds go? Instead of the police force, city funding could go toward social services for mental health, domestic violence and homelessness, among others.
Those dollars can be used to fund schools, hospitals, housing and food in those communities, too -- "all of the things we know increase safety," McHarris said.
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