Defund the Police. Let's talk about it. But don't stop reading until its over because you might be surprised. Lets get 2 things out of the way. 1st, the phrase "Defund the Police" is the stupidest proposal ever. 2nd, I actually support the concept at its roots.
Defund means to prevent from receive funding or to withdraw funds from. And I believe the term Defund the Police is intentionally inflammatory, divisive, and charged. It's meant to inspire confidence in extreme outliers that the officers will be fired left and right to open a new utopia. It's meant to bring fear to officers and departments that they will be rooted out and terminated. But that's not what it means, and its own title will hinder it's progress.
Someone who has pull within this movement should immediately change the title to "Stop Overburdening the Police." Because truly, that's what they mean.
When I started in 2004, if I met a person in crisis, a person with suicidal ideations, a person with a mental illness (diagnosed or not), I could at my discretion or their request drive them to the state mental hospital in downtown Phoenix. I would pull up to the front door and drop them off. The problem was dealt with by trained social service employees and medical clinicians. Transients could be directed to one of several shelters to receive food, a bed, supplies, or aid. But resources slowly, and quietly began getting shut down. It actually took me almost a year to realize that the state mental hospital didn't exist any more. Not only could it no longer be used as a resource for me....but the occupants that were housed there were released and trickled out on to the streets.
Instead of defunding the police. Stop overburdening them.
Support crisis intervention teams from your local hospital that are available 24 hours a day to respond out to calls for help. Understand that some programs like that currently exist. Most are underfunded, available intermittently, and almost all require officers to be dispatched with them. If there are no police, they will not go either. Police Officers receive (an anecdotal guess) 2 to 8 hours of crisis training per year, unless an individual officer elects or is directed to attend a 1 week class. Still no where near what a social worker does. Don't make police officers responsible for dealing with your community's mentally ill.
Support homeless shelters, low income housing, multi family housing units, and other resources in your community. High housing costs, population density, unemployment, and the aforementioned mental health issues are causing an increase in homelessness and transients. Officers receive (an anecdotal guess) 0 hours per year training specifically on homeless issues. Some officers may seek out training or resources personally, as a matter of interested. Don't make police officers responsible for dealing with your community's homeless population.
Support after school programs for kids, child care facilities, sports programs, park programs, and tutoring centers. Children raised in single parent households are usually at home by themselves after school.N Idle hands are the devil's playground. Without positive adult role models, positive activities, positive social interaction, and adult supervision, kids will engage in petty crimes, try smoking or drug use, flock to peers with strong (but sometimes unhealthy) personalities. Kids don't need to be introduced to the criminal justice system. They need to be raised responsibly and integrated in to society. Don't make police officers responsible for dealing with unsupervised kids in the community.
Support self service centers at your court house. Custody exchanges, custody disputes, property disputes, landlord tenant issues, etc are not police issues. Attorneys go to school for 6 years or so. Officer get (on average) a 16 week academy and a 16 week field training program. Most of it focused on criminal law. Stop introducing people in to the criminal justice system when they need civil law assistance. Don't make officers responsible for applying criminal law to civil issues or for providing civil law advise to people.
Support increased funding and training for Emergency Call Centers. 911 centers are the first line of discretion in an agency. Many centers receive a call for any request from a citizen and enter a call for service without question. Once that call is entered, an officer must respond. First off, call centers across the country are severely under funded, understaffed, overworked, and burned out. They are almost working on autopilot, for up to 16 hours per shift, days in a row. Demand higher pay for dispatchers, attract better candidates, hire qualified applicants, train them more, and fully staff the centers. Provide cal takers with basic civil and criminal law classes to allow them to filter out non police issues and direct citizens to the right service. In most locations, if you cal 911 (for other than a clear medical emergency) you will get the police. But the police are not always whats needed. Don't use the police as a catch all for any problem you have.
Support evaluating and repealing stupid criminal statutes. Why was Eric Garner contacted in the first place? For selling Loosies (Loose, singe cigarettes). Why is that even illegal? America loves legislating behavior in to crimes. And by crime, I mean something that could put a person in a jail, even for a day. Not picking up dog poop should no be a crime. Driving without a license should not be a crime. Walking in the street next to a sidewalk should not be a crime. Receiving a product to sell in a package and selling the contents individually should not be a crime. There are civil ways of dealing with issues. Zoning, Code Enforcement, Health Department, etc, can issue warning, fines, liens, etc. Don't use the police to incarcerate people for low level offenses that shouldn't be unlawful anyway.
Finally, stop using your police department as a one stop shop for all your life's problems.
Don't call the police because someone is finishing in your HOA pond.
Don't call the police because the ducks behind your house are too loud.
Don't call the police because your 7 and 9 year old are arguing over Pokemon cards.
Don't call the police because your 11 year old refuses to go to school.
Don't call the police because you found weed in your 14 year old's room.
Don't call the police because your ex is 15 minutes late bringing the kids back.
Don't call the police because someone shoplifted $2.49 earrings.
Don't call the police because your neighbor trimmed your tree over the property line.
Don't call the police because you saw a black male walking and you've never seen him in the neighborhood before.
Don't call the police because your neighbor has parked their car in the street for the last 3 weeks.
(FYI, every single one of these is a real call that I personally have responded to in my career).
In summary, Defund the Police? No. Don't Defund the Police. The Police are a necessary part of society that must exist to intervene in violent crimes, criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, etc. Stop Overburdening the Police. Stop relying on the police as your single point of contact with the government. Stop pretending like 36 weeks of training make a person an expert in criminal law, civil law, medical care, child care, adult care, social work, mental health, physician, counseling, accident reconstruction, and housing. Don't punish the police for being the dumping ground of every other agency, department, and administration that doesn't want to deal with something. Properly fund your entire government and your private social outreach organizations, Hold your tax exempt organizations responsible for their tax exempt status.
And in all seriousness, change the movement's title. Because there's some good concepts in there. But Defunding is going to turn off a lot of people before you can even explain.