Defund or abolish? US debate about police reform continues
4 years, 4 months ago

Defund or abolish? US debate about police reform continues

Al Jazeera  

As case begins against officers involved in George Floyd’s death, activists call for police abolition and defunding. “So, we are fighting for a future … without police, a future without prisons, because we believe that these institutions actively work to oppress Black communities.” Although Black people account for roughly 13 percent of the US population, they make up as much as 40 percent of people held in federal and state prisons, according to US census data. Right-wing pundits like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson argue that abolitionists want a “woke militia of armed social workers, psychologists, and ethnic studies majors” – and want people to be afraid to call the police. “I don’t think that as many people have made the jump to abolishing the police totally,” Sisay said. Community organisers like Merrill insist that with police budgets already so inflated, it is time to reconsider how much money goes into policing and “defund to invest”.

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History of this topic

Kamala Harris praised ‘defund the police’ movement in June 2020 radio interview
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Kamala Harris praised ‘defund the police’ movement in June 2020 radio interview

CNN  

CNN — Vice President Kamala Harris voiced support for “defund the police” in a radio interview in June 2020 amidst nationwide protests for police reform, just months before denouncing the movement after she had joined the Biden presidential campaign. “This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it …

Editorial: Lots of talk, still too little change to policing three years after George Floyd’s murder
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: Lots of talk, still too little change to policing three years after George Floyd’s murder

LA Times  

The relationship between the American people and the police who protect, serve and sometimes oppress them was already under stress when Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020. Police have been disproportionately killing unarmed Black people throughout the nation’s history, but it immediately became clear that Americans saw …

How Joe Biden finds common ground with ‘defund the police’ campaigners
2 years, 9 months ago

How Joe Biden finds common ground with ‘defund the police’ campaigners

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Earlier this …

The Violent Sameness Of The Police Reform Movement
2 years, 11 months ago

The Violent Sameness Of The Police Reform Movement

Huff Post  

It’s time to reform the police again. Last week, Minneapolis police officers shot and killed 22-year-old Amir Locke, a Black man who his parents say was asleep on a couch, while serving a no-knock warrant. Locke’s tragic death comes at a time when the appetite for police reform has been put on the back burner by elected officials, maybe because …

Even Democrats are now admitting ‘Defund the Police’ was a massive mistake
3 years, 2 months ago

Even Democrats are now admitting ‘Defund the Police’ was a massive mistake

CNN  

CNN — On Tuesday, a proposal to fundamentally restructure the Minneapolis police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020 was soundly defeated, a setback that even many Democrats acknowledged could be laid at the feet of the “defund the police” movement that some within the party embraced last summer. “I think allowing this moniker, ‘Defund the police,’ …

Minneapolis Voters Weigh Fate Of Police After George Floyd's Death
3 years, 2 months ago

Minneapolis Voters Weigh Fate Of Police After George Floyd's Death

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING MINNEAPOLIS — Voters in Minneapolis were deciding Tuesday whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety, more than a year after George Floyd’s death under the knee of a white police officer launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country. Minneapolis voters were also deciding whether to replace …

Editorial: Abolish the police? No. Reform policing? Absolutely
3 years, 7 months ago

Editorial: Abolish the police? No. Reform policing? Absolutely

LA Times  

As talks continue in the Senate over the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, a comprehensive bill to improve and monitor police behavior, the main bone of contention is how best to hold police officers accountable for misconduct, such as the excessive force that injures and sometimes kills so many Americans, a disproportionate number of them Black men. …

Police reform in the US: A tale of two Minnesota cities
3 years, 7 months ago

Police reform in the US: A tale of two Minnesota cities

Al Jazeera  

Minneapolis, Minnesota, US – Last month, as the world watched the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, just a few miles away from the courthouse, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police officer Kim Potter shot and killed Daunte Wright, also a Black man. The swift passage of police reform …

Defund the police encounters resistance as violent crime spikes
3 years, 7 months ago

Defund the police encounters resistance as violent crime spikes

CNN  

CNN — One year since a nationwide movement sparked calls for slashing police funding in favor of other nontraditional forms of public safety, it’s not clear whether any city achieved anything resembling what protesters demanded: massively defunded or abolished police departments. The sustained increase in violent crime, the gun violence that we’ve been seeing, and calls from the community that …

What's Changed In Police Reform Since George Floyd's Death : Consider This from NPR : NPR
3 years, 7 months ago

What's Changed In Police Reform Since George Floyd's Death : Consider This from NPR : NPR

NPR  

What's Changed — And What Hasn't — In The Year Since George Floyd Was Killed Enlarge this image toggle caption Brandon Bell/Getty Images Brandon Bell/Getty Images After his death on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the face of a movement against police violence. But attorney Andrea Ritchie says, in some ways, the prosecution and conviction of former Minneapolis police …

Defunding police: An idea most Democrats don’t want to talk about
3 years, 8 months ago

Defunding police: An idea most Democrats don’t want to talk about

Al Jazeera  

It became a political flashpoint last year; now, Democratic leaders refuse to entertain the notion. https://t.co/Z4JV3iWUKF — Ayanna Pressley April 12, 2021 Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke out in solidarity with her fellow “Squad” members tweeting, “Cameras, chokehold bans, ‘retraining’ funds, and similar reform measures do not ultimately solve what is a systemic problem.” Daunte Wright’s killing was not a random, …

After 2020’s BLM protests, real police reform proves a struggle
3 years, 8 months ago

After 2020’s BLM protests, real police reform proves a struggle

Al Jazeera  

Real reforms in US policing are slow to emerge as Derek Chauvin’s murder trial puts a spotlight on use-of-force rules When former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck of George Floyd as he lay handcuffed and dying face down in the street, it seemed an obviously excessive use of force. “The push around police department …

House OKs George Floyd Act as Democrats avoid ‘defund’ clash
3 years, 10 months ago

House OKs George Floyd Act as Democrats avoid ‘defund’ clash

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — House Democrats passed the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing nationwide, avoiding a potential clash with moderates in their own party who were wary of reigniting the “defund the police” debate they say hurt them during last fall’s election. Floyd’s family watched the emotional debate from a nearby House office building and said “defunding the police” …

Defunding the police: Biden says he’s opposed
3 years, 10 months ago

Defunding the police: Biden says he’s opposed

CNN  

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story ran on June 6, 2020. CNN — President Joe Biden said at a CNN town hall on Tuesday that he remains opposed to calls for “defunding the police” – a rallying cry for activists seeking reforms in law enforcement. In response to a question about how to avoid overly constraining police while …

US President Biden says no to ‘defunding the police’
3 years, 10 months ago

US President Biden says no to ‘defunding the police’

Al Jazeera  

US President would put more money into local policing to hire more diverse officers and train them better for the job. United States President Joe Biden said that instead of defunding the police, a main demand of the protest movement that erupted last year following the death of a Black man in police custody, he would put more money into …

Did “defund the police” lead to an increase in murder? Almost certainly not
3 years, 11 months ago

Did “defund the police” lead to an increase in murder? Almost certainly not

Salon  

Former President Donald Trump, a variety of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and police unions have spent so many months blaming protesters' calls to shift city budgets away from police for the widespread increase in homicides that it has become conventional wisdom. Trump and countless Republican candidates seized on Black Lives Matter protesters' calls to "defund the police," or to shift …

Did we defund the police? No, but “big changes are happening” even after protests die down
4 years ago

Did we defund the police? No, but “big changes are happening” even after protests die down

Salon  

After weeks of nationwide protests over the police killings of unarmed Black people this summer, many demonstrators worried that newfound political support for cutting police budgets would die down once the television cameras turned off. Hooks said that the protests came just as Atlanta came out of its budgeting session and city officials "refused to listen to what the public …

Police departments seeing modest cuts, but not ‘defunding’
4 years, 3 months ago

Police departments seeing modest cuts, but not ‘defunding’

Associated Press  

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd earlier this year prompted calls to “defund the police” in cities across the country, a priority for activists that has now become a central point in the presidential contest. The City Council approved something much more modest — cuts equal to less than 1% of the police …

Calls to defund the police are dangerous (opinion)
4 years, 4 months ago

Calls to defund the police are dangerous (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: James A. Gagliano is a CNN law enforcement analyst and retired FBI supervisory special agent. Protests around the country led to dangerous calls to “defund the police” and “abolish the police,” and the New York City Council voted last month to cut $1 billion from the NYPD’s nearly $6 billion annual budget for the 2020 fiscal year. Over …

Crime is surging in US cities. Some say defunding the police will actually make it fall
4 years, 5 months ago

Crime is surging in US cities. Some say defunding the police will actually make it fall

CNN  

CNN — It’s been a long time since summer in the US felt this feverish. In a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and other New York leaders, PBA President Patrick Lynch said city officials “created an atmosphere of hatred and disrespect toward police officers and criminals are taking full advantage.” When the New York Attorney General issued guidelines for …

Is Camden a model for police reform? Activists who live there don't think so
4 years, 6 months ago

Is Camden a model for police reform? Activists who live there don't think so

Salon  

Many police reformers have pointed to Camden, New Jersey, as a model for overhauling police departments around the nation in response to protests over police killings of unarmed Black people. "Camden's not a model because the residents had nothing to do with this, had no say in this whatsoever," Keith Benson, the head of the city's teachers' union, told Salon …

Defunding police after George Floyd’s killing doesn’t have to mean more crime
4 years, 6 months ago

Defunding police after George Floyd’s killing doesn’t have to mean more crime

CNN  

London CNN — “Defund the police!” has become a common chant of US activists protesting the death of George Floyd. In New Zealand, parts of Australia and parts of the US state of Nevada, units were closed when sex work was legalized, which Vitale said meant sex workers were “less likely to be victimized because they’re operating now in a …

Abolish or reform? Proposals to end police violence seek “radical transformation”
4 years, 6 months ago

Abolish or reform? Proposals to end police violence seek “radical transformation”

Salon  

Calls for police reform reached a groundswell after the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and, more recently, Rayshard Brooks. At the federal level, lawmakers need to create a national use-of-force standard "so that police can only use force when necessary and only after exhausting all reasonable alternatives," said Garcia, who previously served as an attorney at the Justice …

Editorial: Five things ‘Defund the police’ is not
4 years, 6 months ago

Editorial: Five things ‘Defund the police’ is not

LA Times  

Demonstrators call to “defund LAPD” at a gathering among about 1,000 people gathered to protest the killing of George Floyd and in support of Black Lives Matter in downtown Los Angeles on June 5. album “Straight Outta Compton.” “Defund tha police!” the group rapped in its most controversial track, except that they didn’t say “defund,” but a word that starts …

As calls mount to defund or disband police departments across the US, here's what such a process would actually entail
4 years, 7 months ago

As calls mount to defund or disband police departments across the US, here's what such a process would actually entail

Firstpost  

A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged on Sunday to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, promising to create a new system of public safety in a city where law enforcement has long been accused of racism Minneapolis: Across the US, calls are mounting from some activists and elected officials to defund, downsize or abolish police departments. A veto-proof …

George Floyd's death has prompted calls to 'defund the police'. Here's what that means
4 years, 7 months ago

George Floyd's death has prompted calls to 'defund the police'. Here's what that means

ABC  

One of the most tangible rallying cries in the wake of the massive protest over the death of George Floyd in America has been "defund the police". US President Donald Trump has vowed there won't be "a dismantling of police", but some cities have already taken the first steps to doing just that. Supporters want those funds redirected into things …

The View: Meghan McCain has tense exchange with Kamala Harris on police defunding
4 years, 7 months ago

The View: Meghan McCain has tense exchange with Kamala Harris on police defunding

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Meghan McCain and Kamala Harris had a tense exchange about police …

Explained: When American protesters say 'defund the police,' what does it mean?
4 years, 7 months ago

Explained: When American protesters say 'defund the police,' what does it mean?

The Hindu  

Protesters are pushing to “defund the police” over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. The New Jersey Democrat told NBC’s Meet the Press that he shares a feeling with many protesters that Americans are “over-policed” and that “we are investing in police, which is not solving problems, but making them worse when we …

George Floyd death: At Minneapolis rally, majority of city council comes out in favour of disbanding police department
4 years, 7 months ago

George Floyd death: At Minneapolis rally, majority of city council comes out in favour of disbanding police department

Firstpost  

Community activists have criticised the Minneapolis department for years for what they say is a racist and brutal culture that resists change. Minneapolis: A majority of the members of the Minneapolis City Council said Sunday they support disbanding the city’s police department, an aggressive stance that comes just as the state has launched a civil rights investigation after George Floyd’s …

Is ‘Defund the Police’ a massive political mistake?
4 years, 7 months ago

Is ‘Defund the Police’ a massive political mistake?

CNN  

CNN — On Friday, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser had a massive mural reading “Black Lives Matter” in block yellow lettering painted on 16th Street near the White House. “We can do this AND keep our city safe.” While those moves are unlikely to impact the political futures of either de Blasio or the Minneapolis City Council members – both are …

Biden supports reform but not the ‘defund police’ movement
4 years, 7 months ago

Biden supports reform but not the ‘defund police’ movement

Al Jazeera  

Democrat presidential candidate breaks with those who want to see police funds diverted to community-led safety models. A spokesman for the Biden presidential campaign said on Monday that the candidate does not support such efforts, echoing Democrats in the US Congress who proposed sweeping legislation to combat police violence and racial injustice but stopped short of calling for funding cuts …

‘Defund the police’: What the protest chant means
4 years, 7 months ago

‘Defund the police’: What the protest chant means

Al Jazeera  

Demonstrators say states and cities should stop funding police agencies and spend more on housing, jobs and education. The New Jersey Democrat told NBC’s Meet the Press he shares a feeling with many protesters that Americans are “over-policed” and “we are investing in police, which is not solving problems but making them worse when we should be, in a more …

Democrats Unveil Police Reform Legislation Amid Protests Nationwide
4 years, 7 months ago

Democrats Unveil Police Reform Legislation Amid Protests Nationwide

NPR  

Democrats Unveil Police Reform Legislation Amid Protests Nationwide Enlarge this image toggle caption Jose Luis Magana/AP Jose Luis Magana/AP Updated at 1 p.m. ET In the wake of national protests following the death of George Floyd, House and Senate Democrats unveiled legislation on Monday that would bring about wide-ranging reforms to police departments across the country. Sponsor Message "We can't …

When protesters cry ‘defund the police,’ what does it mean?
4 years, 7 months ago

When protesters cry ‘defund the police,’ what does it mean?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Protesters are pushing to “defund the police” over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. The New Jersey Democrat told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he shares a feeling with many protesters that Americans are “over-policed” and that “we are investing in police, which is not solving problems, but making them worse …

Defunding police: What it means and what it could look like
4 years, 7 months ago

Defunding police: What it means and what it could look like

CNN  

CNN — There’s a growing group of dissenters who believe Americans can survive without law enforcement as we know it. Defunding law enforcement “means that we are reducing the ability for law enforcement to have resources that harm our communities,” Cullors said in an interview with WBUR, Boston’s public radio station. A 2017 report, which focused on several weeks in …

Cities Ask If It's Time To Reimagine Policing In The U.S.
4 years, 7 months ago

Cities Ask If It's Time To Reimagine Policing In The U.S.

NPR  

Cities Ask If It's Time To Reimagine Policing In The U.S. For years, activists who've criticized police abuse have called for cuts in law enforcement budgets – often with little success. CORLEY: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, says she's heard the talk about defunding police departments. The weeks of protests, the demand for defunding police departments, and the unrest that's left …

Police Budgets Have Long Been Untouchable. That Could Change.
4 years, 7 months ago

Police Budgets Have Long Been Untouchable. That Could Change.

Huff Post  

As demonstrations spotlighting racial injustice and police brutality continue, the chorus is growing to "defund" law enforcement agencies. Photo Illustration: HuffPost Visuals; Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images Chants to “Defund the police!” have reverberated around the country, from New York City to Minneapolis and through the streets of Los Angeles, as thousands of people protested racist police violence this …

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