The media adds to the drama with their usual determination to take the side of the powerful. William Bratton led police departments in New York and Los Angeles and in a recent New York Times interview said,“ They got what they wanted. They defunded the police. What do they get? Rising crime, cops leaving in droves, difficulty recruiting. Now, they’re waking up to the fact that our cities are unsafe.”
Not only should this propaganda be rejected, but the original questions about police funding should be revived. Police do have far more money than they need to do their jobs. Bloated budgets are a feature of police work in a society dedicated to racist practice. The modern day slave patrol is a racket that gives good paying employment to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it while simultaneously keeping Black people under physical control. But even if reducing funding were a realistic proposition, is that what the demand should be?
Community control of the police should be the goal but that can’t happen
unless all government functions address human needs. Without real
democracy and a true commitment to human rights, policing will not
change. Of course, any discussion of law enforcement is inextricably
linked to anti-Black racism, the controlling feature of many aspects of
public policy in this country.
-- Margaret Kimberley, "Freedom Rider: The Truth About Defunding Police" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).
