Michael Jefferson.
(Opinion) I oppose defunding the police. This should not be interpreted as an endorsement of improper and illegal police practices in the Black community. Far from it. I remain wedded to my longstanding belief that law enforcement in general is a microcosm of the larger society.
Thus, its framework – its foundation, is rooted in white supremacy. Think slave patrols. Read Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon. Read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. Remember George Floyd.
Obviously, the ugly legacy of white supremacy as an integral facet of America’s criminal justice system presents leaders in the law enforcement community with a colossal challenge – eradicating the racist notion that “criminality” and “Blackness” are synonymous. Meeting this challenge should supersede all other reform related undertakings by the law enforcement community.
The Black community has a titanic challenge of its own – neutralizing the small but very violent element in our midst. The Black community, generally speaking, has done an awful job challenging this element within our community. The few crusaders who are willing to confront the issue and take a stand are oftentimes placed in a quandary.
On the one hand they recognize the internal danger. But on the other hand they are constantly reminded of the inherent injustice of the criminal justice system as it pertains to Black lives. For them it is tantamount to fighting a two-front war, and the latter will undoubtedly take precedence over the former. Admittedly, it is an easier battle.
If there is to be a Grand Bargain between law enforcement and the Black community that will ultimately lead to safer streets, a sincere effort must be made by both to confront their respective internal challenges.
For its part, leaders in law enforcement must do their absolute best to weed out those racist elements who now carry a badge and a gun. They must also adopt measures that will effectively diminish the chances of such individuals being hired in law enforcement in the first place.
Law enforcement leaders must also work with lawmakers and policy makers to craft laws that will enable police officers who abuse their authority to be held fully accountable. The courts, particularly, judges and prosecutors must stop enabling police officers who are unfit to serve. Not every arrest is lawful, and the same can be said of searches and seizures.
As for the Black community, its members must support efforts by those in the community who are willing to challenge the violent element who seek to bring ruin upon our community by their continuous, reckless acts of violence. Further, Black leadership should loudly encourage community members not to tolerate this element and when necessary assist law enforcement in the apprehension of those who engage in violent activity. Committed community activists must also refrain from making blanket excuses for those responsible for the alarming acts of violence tearing our community apart.
Here’s the real deal: Most Black people are not violent. Most Black people are not criminals. Most Black people want to live in safe communities where their children can run, jump and play or take a stroll to the neighborhood store without fear of being shot. Consider it’s your child who winds up in the hospital with a bullet wound — or worse, the morgue — as a result of a senseless act of gun violence. Are you willing to entertain excuses for such a transgression? I think not.
The bottom line is this — until the Black community creates a culture that has zero tolerance for violent offenders any effort to defund the police should be categorically dismissed. To be even more candid, most communities don’t need less police officers. They need more. However, “more” doesn’t mean more of the same.
We need police officers who are willing to embrace a new model of policing. One in which the community is not viewed as an open-air prison inhabited by unruly savages in need of a big stick wielded by an iron hand. No. We need officers who, for starters, are keenly aware of the racial dynamics of our society and the historical role played by law enforcement in perpetuating the oppression of Black people. We need officers who are genuinely self-reflective regarding their own racial biases and who are committed to the concept of “unlearning.”
In the final analysis we need police officers who are decent human beings, who possess a healthy respect for our community and the constitution. Bigots need not apply.
"To be even more candid, most communities don’t need less police officers. They need
more. However, “more” doesn’t mean more of the same"
The reality of the "defund the police" movement(s) and increasing the personal liability of police officers (here in CT) has ensured that lower-income neighborhoods have less community policing, and far longer response times, all of which have emboldened criminals and frightened many decent law-abiding people who would otherwise cooperate far more with police. In addition, recruiting new officers is much harder now, so the chances of police reform less likely, and the core problem gets worse as less investment is made.
Politicians who created and supported "defund" policies need to be held to account for them at election time and be voted out of office - they did not work and it was obvious they could never work. Never create public policy based on emotion alone, throgful debate was needed but we never had it and the police warned us what could happen and it did happen.
Politicians need to fix this, it is not working anyway. However, like other bad policies i.e economic and tax policies, once bad legislation is created, it stays around forever as politicians hate admitting they were wrong about anything, which is also idiotic and why they are generally disliked and have consistently poor approval ratings (20-25%).