It is unclear where the “defund the police” movement stands in 2022 as homicides and violent crime continue to rise in major U.S. cities and officer deaths reach record highs.
Different versions of the demand to “defund” or redistribute funding from police departments to other community initiatives were popularized after the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man killed by Derek Chauvin, a White police officer.
But since then, there has been little change to police budgets in Democratic-leaning cities since 2020 as departments across the country face staffing shortages.
“You can no longer say we’re going to continue to defund or reallocate when everybody is being impacted by the rise in crime. I think that there is a benefit to it in that we have other services that can respond to other calls,” she said, adding later that some police tactics have “gone back to truly the roots of community-based policing and working hand-in-hand with our community members.”
Additionally, new legislation, such as laws requiring body cameras for police in certain cities, costs more money, not less; not only for the cameras themselves but for computer storage to retain hours and hours of footage.
“We don’t have all the answers as a profession. A lot of times, incredible ideas come from our community,” she said.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
Leave a Reply