What does “defund the police” mean?

The demand to “defund the police” seems, on the face of it, to be ridiculous. The common, dismissive reaction is: Communities need police and police need to be paid. But it isn’t that straightforward.

In the US, because social programs have long been code for ‘programs for people who aren’t white’ (even though, in fact, poorer whites benefit from them in greater numbers than POC), they have all been starved of funding. Affordable housing, drug treatment, social work, health care, mental health care, day care, quality public education, vocational training, etc, etc. are all under funded or aren’t part of the social welfare structure at all.

Additionally, the fetishizing of the 2nd Amendment has created a country awash in guns, which has created a domestic arms race. The police argue they have to have more funding so that they won’t be out gunned.

Meanwhile, overfunding the military has resulted in an endless supply of military equipment created for a military that isn’t using it, which is then repurposed by domestic police forces.

In part, this is because, post 9/11 federal and state funding for police forces has prioritized and even incentivized military-grade purchases for ‘anti-terror’ efforts.

“Defund the police” needs a new slogan. But it’s hard to come up with a pithy way of saying:

“Instead of spending so much money on things that kill and incarcerate people and don’t solve any of the problems that most average Americans are dealing with, use that money to fund social services, health services, education and housing. Then we wouldn’t need such large, militarized police forces and more prisons than any other country on earth.”

Until that happens, social problems will continue to be treated as law and order problems. And law breakers will continue to be treated as an ‘enemy’. Of course, under white supremacy this domestic ‘enemy’ is and always has been primarily people of color.

Police are equipped for battle. They are not equipped to be a public service. Battle is more expensive than public services. But private interests profit from battles (both foreign and domestic). They don’t think they’ll profit from a healthy, safely housed, well-educated population. Of course they’re wrong. A rising tide raises all ships.

We need public servants, not a domestic army.