Reform the police, don’t defund them
In the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 at the hands of a thenpolice officer, this is a moment upon which to both reflect and take action. We cannot let politics, once again, get in the way of much-needed policy reforms.
Throughout our country, many have rightfully gathered and protested peacefully against Floyd’s death. At this moment, there have also been calls to “defund the police.” However, polling shows these calls do not represent the majority of Americans’ views on the matter. This sentiment is shared by Hispanic Americans as well.
According to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, 64% of Americans are opposed to defunding police departments and 60% of Americans are opposed to reducing police budgets with the purpose of moving those funds to other programs. Specifically, within the Hispanic community, 57% of Hispanics are opposed to defunding the police while 58% of Hispanics do not want to reallocate police budgets to other programs.
Over the course of the past couple of weeks there has been a national debate on how to improve the relationship between police departments and communities, particularly with minority communities that are disproportionately affected by abuses in policing. As a result of this necessary and important national conversation, there have been two major public policy developments that will directly impact this conversation.
First, President Trump has signed an executive order, which will ban chokeholds unless an officer’s life is at risk and also gives the Attorney General the discretion to distribute certain grant funding based on police departments meeting the highest of standards to take part in de-escalation. Secondly, because of this executive order, President Trump is having his administration propose recommendations for legislation to Congress to further bolster the policies and initiatives set in this executive order.
Hopefully this executive order is the beginning of greater trust being developed between police departments and communities. It is also worth noting that members of the Latino community have felt let down by some in law enforcement whether it was about how members in our own community have at times been treated by some law enforcement officials or in seeing police stand by as Latino-owned businesses were looted and destroyed by those who were seeking to delegitimize peaceful protests.
The killing of George Floyd is something that never should have happened in the United States of America. The police should be educated to serve with firmness and also compassion, but defunding the police is not the right choice. These proposed reforms are a bold first step. Let us hope that they bring all Americans together to rebuild trust and continue our pursuit of a “more perfect union.”