What Actually Happens When You Defund the Police?

[Sentry18]

What Actually Happens When You Defund the Police?

June 9, 2020



by Selco Begovic

Protests, as I stated more than once, have their own force. It can be a sharp devastating physically destructive force, or it can be a long cumulative one, the kind of force that changes things.


Usually, it is a combination of both.


Among things that people want to change, there are doable and not doable ones, and of course, there are good and not so good wishes for particular changes.


Do not forget that protests even if they have a righteous cause can turn to something different, like looting and violence. It’s the same way that the cumulative force of it can over time turn to something different, something wrong.



Why can it turn in that way? Well, there are usually two reasons:

1. Folks who are demanding changes actually do not have enough consistency and knowledge to articulate their wishes or demands, so in the end, it turns out to be nothing.
2. Folks who want change, over time are being manipulated by someone so they are pushing for the change that they only think is good or righteous, or they push it for someone else’s agenda, unknowingly.

And we’re watching this now.

Defunding the police

There is no system in the world that does not get into “reform the police” discussions and demands after some events. It is natural. But when so many emotions and force got behind demands like that, then it counts. It needs to be addressed.


The problem here might be that some of the news that can be found out there about the nature of reform (how some people see it) that what is wished has got a weird, almost eerie feeling.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said last week that he would reverse his plan to boost spending for the Los Angeles Police Department by instead redirecting $250 million from across the city’s budget toward programs for health care, jobs and “peace centers.” As much as $150 million would come from the police department, officials said. The police union there called him “unstable” after the announcement, while leaders of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles called for deeper cuts and “transformative” change, adding they could not be “bought off with just this minimal amount of money.” (source)

Setting the story like it is better to redirect money from PD to “health care, jobs and peace centers” has its own sense of being logical because what could be better than health care, jobs, and peace centers?


But the real problem is what do you actually get by “de-funding” the police? Probably in reality you’ll get more instability and insecurity, so, in essence, there is no sense in that plan.


There are some statements about de-funding police (I admit, they are so outrageous I am not even sure they are real) that sounds more like they are coming from Utopia, not a real society. There are even some things there which are similar to communism, where levers of controlling might get into the hands of people who will use it for absolute control.


In a wish to control something too much, you might very soon find yourself in a situation where there is simply too much control over everything, including your own life, and all aspects of it.


Plans for police reform that will include something where kinda social workers will do the job of police sounds great, but it is Utopia, not a real thing. Those are maybe good wishes but they’re based on not judging the reality around you.


It is dangerous. You are opening the door for more insecurity and probable chaos in an already troubling situation.

Who is behind it?

There is always somebody behind the scenes, and no, it is not a conspiracy theory. It is real life. It is how real life works. The media is always pushing a message.


A good and decent cause or movement, or a wish for change can be hijacked in this way. Then from the outside, it seems like it is still what it was. But from the inside – or behind the scenes – it becomes a movement to push some other things or plans through. There is always someone who benefits from this.


Common folks usually realize, as I always keep saying, years after that they were following something that was twisted or perverted from the good initial goal.


Sometimes you fight for freedom, but actually you are helping an individual to get rich. Other times you keep the cardboard sign with the noble message but behind the scenes, you are pushing someone’s secret agenda, whether you know it or not.


Yes, sometimes you do the best you can, and meanwhile, those who pull strings do what benefits them. It is life.

How this relates to prepping

I love to say that survival is the ability to think (and plan) several steps ahead, or very simplified, often it is enough just to be able to think ahead of the majority of the other people around you.


So what makes sense here from a survival point of view is just good old “who gets what from this” and acting according to that.


What would your world look like if things continue to go in this direction? What does that mean for you in terms of prepping? What you can change (adapt) based on that?


Think in those terms, because usually big changes you can not affect on your own individual level. But you can adapt to it, preferably before most of the other people realize what that change might bring.

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/selco-defunding-police/

 

[Woody]

I believe the folks in the autonomous zone in Seattle are finding out exactly what happens with no Police. Someone comes around to fill that void, and perhaps might not be the kind of folks you would like to fill that particular void in society.

 

[HippoTwilight]

I've been seeing a glimmer of light on social media about this buzz-phrase.

The original intent was not to disband the entire police force, which is the most popular interpretation out there. The point is to reallocate funds to programs and services staffed by people trained to deal with those situations. Even in my smallish city, LEO's have a lot of responsibility that's only been put there b/c arrest was the only way response available. The defunding needs to go toward programs and services designed to reduce the need for police intervention.

I'll be the last one to blindly support a protest, but some of the PD's around the country are getting too brazen. While I'm disappointed that a person of Floyd's character is the one who sparked a global conversation, it's probably better to do it now rather than wait until we live in the United police States of America.

I hope the mob mentality calms down, and people realize for every bad cop, there are hundreds of good ones.

 

[Amish Heart]

I think if govt paid police are done away with, then it'll just be privatized, and individuals will have to pay for it, or be their own police.

 

[Morgan101]

Defunding the Police means reducing the Police Department's budget; taking money away from police and diverting it elsewhere. What are the major components of a Police Department budget? The largest components of said budget will be the hardest hit to affect a substantive reduction.

If you have ever been involved in a budgeting process IMHO you will find one of the largest components is personnel. You aren't going to stop paying utilities, although I am not sure how that works for a Police Department. I would expect equipment, and training would be other major components.

Again, JMHO, the end result will be fewer Police Officers, who are paid even less than they are now, that are ill equipped, and under trained if not poorly trained, if they are trained at all. Surely, this is a recipe for disaster.

Following the old adage: You get what you pay for, the personnel applying for the job will probably be a lower quality than what you would accept. Am I off base following this line of reasoning?

 

[Sentry18]

Am I off base following this line of reasoning?

Not in the least. If our budget was cut by even 5-10% that means less officers on the road. So it will take longer for officers to respond to calls. It also means less training for the officers who are still on duty, not to mention less time off which increased stress and reduces employee retention. Which brings us to lower hiring standards. It also means less communications staff, which means getting through to 911 will take longer and getting emergency services to you, like fire and ems, will take a lot longer. It also means less investigators, so anything considered to be less serious will never even be looked into and the only the most serious crimes will be investigated. And even then with an eye on the bottom line, is it financially viable to try and solve this case? It also means less follow up on complaints, less monitoring of persons with protection orders, less monitoring of persons of concern like known pedophiles & domestic terrorists, less community engagement like neighborhood watch and mentoring programs, and less patrolling around schools and day care centers and other places where high visibility creates a strong deterence.

 

[Morgan101]

I would be reasonably certain none of these idiot politicians have ever thought this through. Excellent explanation of where the system will fail.

Thanks, Sentry.

 

[HippoTwilight]

Not in the least. If our budget was cut by even 5-10% that means less officers on the road. So it will take longer for officers to respond to calls. It also means less training for the officers who are still on duty, not to mention less time off which increased stress and reduces employee retention. Which brings us to lower hiring standards. It also means less communications staff, which means getting through to 911 will take longer and getting emergency services to you, like fire and ems, will take a lot longer. It also means less investigators, so anything considered to be less serious will never even be looked into and the only the most serious crimes will be investigated. And even then with an eye on the bottom line, is it financially viable to try and solve this case? It also means less follow up on complaints, less monitoring of persons with protection orders, less monitoring of persons of concern like known pedophiles & domestic terrorists, less community engagement like neighborhood watch and mentoring programs, and less patrolling around schools and day care centers and other places where high visibility creates a strong deterence.

Since you're very close to the subject...

Is it reasonable to assume a properly funded PD wouldn't need "reform", and simply adding the other community services could relieve some of the burden from the PD? Seems like it'd be a lot easier to sell the taxpayers on funding "community services" rather than increasing PD budgets.

My perspective is from a small city near a drug trafficking corridor. We have a lot of drug related activity, everything from manufacturing to OD's, and the petty crime associated with addicts. After the use of Narcan skyrocketed years ago, the city setup a substance abuse program. My understanding is that it's working, with the number of participants increasing year-over-year. The public information implies that overall related crime is going down or at least plateaued.
I know there was (probably still is) some censorship between the city and newspaper that actively seeks to keep the rose colored glasses on everybody. After my garage was burgled the detective gave us some insight about the recent crime wave, and it was disappointing to hear orders were coming from the top. They were equally frustrated b/c they essentially couldn't do any public awareness campaigns. Somehow the newspaper was all over it when we had city, county, and state LEO cars all broken into and weapons stolen.

Other city activity include plans for affordable housing (both subsidized and not) for lower middle class, basically around the low $100k's. They've setup tax incentives to revitalize formerly prominent neighborhoods which have become run down over the decades. They're working with developers to tear down condemned houses and build apartment complexes in the low-income neighborhoods.

 

[SeventiesWreckers]

Since EMS Paramedics & Fire have standing policies preventing them from generally entering an unsecured scene, I would guess that there might be many calls they just won't respond to till the next day. Or, ever.

If a crowd forces an engine company to do it's own crowd control, they will likely be yelling for the police to come save them.

 

[Cascadian]

Just throwing this out there. I assume very few politicians have ever needed or had to call the police. Private security does the heavy lifting for them.

 

[Sentry18]

Is it reasonable to assume a properly funded PD wouldn't need "reform", and simply adding the other community services could relieve some of the burden from the PD? Seems like it'd be a lot easier to sell the taxpayers on funding "community services" rather than increasing PD budgets.

I would agree with that for the most part.

Although there are a lot of PD's in leftist cities that have no really grown and developed because they are forced to play a perpetual game of catch up, thanks to idiotic policies, constant changing leadership, and continued budgetary shortfalls. They don't need reform, they need to get caught up with the rest of us.

 

[Supervisor42]

Well and then there is this:
https://nypost.com/2020/06/13/truckers-wouldnt-deliver-to-cities-that-defund-police-poll/
Rut-Roe!!!
Do all of you people living in the blue-utopias have a garden to feed you thru the year?
What's going to happen when you go for your weekly looting of the Target® store and it's already empty?
There's no police to stop you anymore, take everything you want!
Now, these guys, bring you everything.
What happens to your life when these guys bring nothing?

 

[SheepDog]

It's called a self limiting society. It will only support the number of people they can provide food for. I worked up the total with my limited knowledge of the groups resources and the number is 1 person for three days. That includes all the natural food sources other than cannibalism.
If they make use of cannibalism then they will need to import three times the population for each month they want to live. Once the population drops to four the population has reached it's end.
People supplying free food changes the statistics a bit but only so long as the food is provided. I say keep the walls in place and let them live out their dream in solitude. When they break out into the rest of the city arrest them or shoot them as enemy combatants as they invade the USA.