Axios: “Defund the Police” Lives On As a Local Movement

“Defund the Police” isn’t merely a silly slogan.

It was swiftly acted on in many big cities last summer like New York City, Murderapolis and Seattle where progressive activists go their way.

Axios:

“In the absence of support from President Biden and most national Democrats, the “Defund the Police” movement has gone local, ushering in an unprecedented wave of cuts to departments in major cities around the country in the year since George Floyd’s death.

The big picture: At least 20 large U.S. cities have reduced their police budgets in some form, adding up to some $840 million, per data from the progressive group Interrupting Criminalization and media reports from across the country. 25 have ended contracts with police operating in schools. …

In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, the city council slashed $8 million from its police department. It reinvested $2 million in community-based violence prevention programs and a new mobile mental health team. …

In many cities, opponents of Defund the Police note that policing cuts have coincided with dramatic increases in crime — which also happened in cities with police departments that operated under federally court-ordered reform agreements. …”