I think people on the left have an unmatched propensity for creating and latching onto vague and divisive political slogans. "Defund the police" is the latest example, as the more rational will explain that it doesn't mean what the words mean. Other examples are Believe All Women, and ACAB. This kind of rhetoric stands opposite to productive discussion. Ironically, calling it out does (Catch twenty-)too.

I think we can all agree that police departments shouldn't be getting leftover military equipment for free or at reduced prices. That kind of stuff should be reserved for the special units. I don't actually know how much of their budget is spent on unnecessary stuff like this, though. I tried looking it up, but just kept getting numbers on the police budget as a percentage of city/state spending. If it is a significant portion then yeah, pump that stuff into preventative measures. But I honestly doubt that it is a significant portion.

The world needs police. But police also need to be accountable. Police unions are very good at representing their officers, at times to the detriment of justice. Laws like qualified immunity to set unreasonably high bars for prosecuting police officers are just bad.

I admit that I haven't been looking, but I've yet to see a good example for a situation where we would normally call police officers that shouldn't require police officers. The domestic violence one sirkill1 mentioned seems especially weird to me, as they can easily get violent.

From what I've seen, police spending is a not insignificant factor in the reduction of crime.


Right now, it just doesn't seem like the answer to me.