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So...I'm reflecting today on when defunding police results in reduced budgets and reallocation. And I'm thinking abotu what I learned about minimizing policing as a public defender. A short thread.
Obviously, the best world is when we replace policing with better, more restorative and beneficial resources and services for community members. But the first logical step in this journey is always cutting back on what we have police do. This actually already happens all the time
When I practiced in the Bronx, every once in a while the police would throw a fit and refuse to do anything more than "necessary" arrests. And we were all like...great? Should we *always* only be arresting people when necessary?
But of course the police spend *most of their time* making unnecessary arrests. Arrests that do little for public safety (like arresting the doodz who sell water outside Yankee stadium in summer, or kids "trespassing" by hanging out with friends at they friend's aunt's building).
These arrests, of course, do massive harm to the arrest person's life. Every arrest, every booking, every trip through jail is violent and traumatizing and disruptive. You miss work. You miss school. You can't pick up your kid or make your shrink appointment. Lasting consequences
So when police would, like, do their ridiculous strike by scaling back these unnecessary arrests--and not manufacturing drug crime with undercover buy and busts, too--we'd see an arraignment court that had WAY FEWER PEOPLE COMING THROUGH. It was excellent.
Excellent because the only people who were there were people actually accused of doing harm. Yes, we can still do better in how we respond to harm. But my point is, police can easily, easily cut their arrests back by a massive % and have no negative impact on public safety.
They're reducing costs in the system, leaving more $for better things (like education and jobs programs!). They're not traumatizing thousands of citizens and disrupting their lives for no reason. Trickle-down effect is increased economic mobility and freedom for the community.
All of which is to say, if you think this is theoretical, or speculative...it's not. Ask any public defender who has been in arraignments while the police department has scaled back operations. It's a temporary visit to a better--actually safer and stronger--world.
