Defund the Police

I know what some people hear when they hear "defund the police".

They hear that there will be no one to call when someone breaks into their house. They panic, thinking their family will be less safe. They assume that the idea is too radical, too crazy to ever support. They are fundamentally misunderstanding the point— either by an inability to empathize, or a lack of education on the issue. The first is harder to fix than the second, but we can try together.

First let's address one thing: calling 911 was never security for everyone.

White people have operated in a space of immense privilege; calling 911 for us has always meant help is on the way. We never make that call thinking that someone we love may die at the hands of a police officer. Black people do. The police force in the US was founded from organizations responsible for slave patrols and night watches— organizations dedicated to the violent policing of minorities, and upholding slavery and white supremacy.

Police forces, by the nature of their origins, are rooted in white supremacy. The police were never built as an organization to protect and serve us all. 

In the US, 1 out of every 1,000 Black men will die by police. A government organization they pay into with their tax dollars is a leading cause of their death. Police brutality is now a public health crisis. Give that a moment to sink in.

If you're Canadian, despite our smugness, it's not better here. In Toronto, Black folks make up 8.8% of the population, but 7/10 of the civilians involved in fatal shootings by police. That doesn't make sen... ohhh racism.

Now let's get back to this statement: "defund the police".

The first time I tweeted about this a lot of men named "Jim" and "Brian" got up in my DMs with some nonsense. This statement is widely misunderstood so let's clear some things up. In most cases, what is being referred to is reallocating the incredible amount of money we give to police out of our pockets every year. It does not mean getting rid of all law enforcement, this isn't the damn purge. Note: there are legitimate arguments for police abolishment and enacting new forms of community law enforcement. Let's keep listening with open minds.

The police are an expensive government agency we pay for and our money could be used differently.

You see the Robocop-lookin' riot gear they're wearing?
You paid for that with your hard-earned tax dollars.
That pepper spray they're using to harm peaceful protesters?
You bought them that shit.
The salaries of the abusive cops on "paid leave"?
Your tax dollars pay them.

In Canada alone, we spent $15 billion on police in 2017-18. In Toronto, 25% of our property tax goes to the police. We could reallocate those funds to fund healthcare, social services, mental health care, services for those experiencing homelessness, drug rehabilitation— all of the things we've actually been defunding for years. 

Here's the thing—police are tasked with a whole host of jobs they were never trained to do. They respond to cats in trees, homelessness, drug-related issues, traffic accidents, and domestic violence. They respond to mental health wellness checks. The kind of check that was called for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and left her dead. 

Cops aren't psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and dog catchers. They are not equipped or prepared for the massive scope of this job. In most states, they are required to have less hours of training than a damn barber. They're in over their heads, and people are dying as a result.

We have overfunded an organization rooted in racism. We've given them immense power and lots of our hard-earned money. We've handed them control over almost every aspect of our public safety, and it's not working. We all need to demand change, now.