‘Defunding’ police hurts crime rate, public connection

There seems to be a rallying cry of “Defund the Police” by small and very vocal groups here in Central Florida and across the nation.

But what does that mean, exactly, and what would the fallout be for the residents of Orange County?

First, I want to be clear: Criminal-justice reform is critically important, is under way, and is something we wholeheartedly support — but not at the expense of our community’s safety.

The way a community allocates its money is a reflection of its values — and we are fortunate in Orange County to have leaders who understand that public safety is a cornerstone to safe and healthy communities.

There are other pillars to strong communities that include access to health care and mental-health resources; a strong publiceducation system and availability of stable and affordable housing. In Orange County, we value those highly as well.

But when mention is made of defunding law enforcement, or taking some hefty portion of its budget away, it’s important that we all understand what’s at stake.

Less money means fewer law-enforcement officers, period. While some may rejoice at that idea, the vast majority of our residents and visitors rely on law enforcement during some of the most difficult and scary times in their lives.

At the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, fewer deputies would absolutely hinder the primary mission of reducing and preventing crime. It means longer response times to all but the most serious, violent crimes.

But it also means the important crime prevention, community outreach and mentoring programs the Sheriff’s Office provides — particularly to youth in our community — would be severely cut back or eliminated.

We always strive to keep expanding those successful community engagement programs. But steep cuts would make that impossible.

The Police Athletic League, which touches 4,200 middle and high school students in various sporting programs each year, would have to be scaled back significantly or lose the three full-time deputies assigned to it. Anyone who has been affiliated with that program over the years knows it is where deep, interpersonal connections are forged.

OCSO was hoping to expand — not contract — our fledgling partnership with the Orlando Dueling Dragons, a program that pairs teens with officers and deputies on a dragon-boat racing team. The teens build strong relationships with law-enforcement professionals and go on to college and great things in their personal lives.

Every year, the OCSO Civilian Police Academy, Hispanic Civilian Police and Teen Academies allow nearly 300 members of our community to build a greater understanding of the work we do.

Even deputies’ more casual interactions with the community — through barbecues and safety expos and our funding of the Children’s Safety Village, where kids in our communities learn important safety lessons — are critically important connections.

Some might say we can choose to keep those programs and cut elsewhere. That’s not possible. Responding to calls for service is law enforcement’s most critical function, and the community would not tolerate being told to wait hours for a deputy to take a robbery report, or respond too late to a sexual-assault call.

Severe budget cuts would hinder effective deputy training. Instead of providing 40 hours of training each year — which includes critical training like crisis intervention and de-escalation — OCSO might have to scale back to the minimum required by state law: 40 hours every four years.

Our community demands excellence in policing, as it should, and that begins with the proper training and equipment. Law enforcement needs more training, not less.

OCSO has had such success with the dozens of deputies added to the force through the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants, which have the dual mission of community policing and crime reduction.

If we can’t afford the matching funds required for those deputies, the numerous special operations throughout the county — to include street-racing details, tourist protection in the hotel and tourist corridor, and crime reduction initiatives that have paid dividends throughout the county — would screech to a halt.

The men and women of law enforcement risk their lives every day for the safety of this community. We have lost many heroes right here in our own backyard; good men and women who gave everything and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We need to figure out a way to move forward together to defend the police, not defund them.