In some cases, police officers themselves have agreed that the role they play in society is beyond what the traditional scope of law enforcement should be. Not just George Floyd: Police departments have 400-year history of racism. Get the day's top news — ranging from local to international — straight to your inbox each weekday morning.

But what is the "defund the police" movement about? The denial amounted to a rare statement about the 68-year-old autocrat’s physical health following a report from a British tabloid. Biden Confident in Eventual Win, Urges Calm. The extent of those calls varies among cities, elected officials and activists: Some seek to "defund the police," while others are looking to "disband" or abolish local departments. An aerial view shows people gathering to pay tribute at a makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd, on June 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "The body cameras have done nothing more than show us what’s happened over and over again. ", "So much of policing right now is generated and directed towards quality-of-life issues: homelessness, drug addiction, domestic violence," Garza said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Christy E. Lopez, a Georgetown Law professor  and co-director of the school’s Innovative Policing Program, wrote that defunding the police is not necessarily something that comes overnight or by just zeroing out a police department's budget.

(Frank Franklin II/AP). According to data analyzed by the Urban Institute, states and localities spent $115 billion on police in 2017. And presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he doesn't support the movement and believes funding is needed to improve law enforcement, while reasserting his push to adopt other reforms in the wake of Floyd's death. Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza said the "defund the police" movement means investing "in the resources our communities need. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Califiornia said defunding is a "local decision." New York Police Department officers watch protesters march during a solidarity rally for George Floyd, June 4, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. ET | Register Now >>, New York Police Department officers watch protesters march during a solidarity rally for George Floyd, June 4, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

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The principle behind the idea is that funding given to police forces should be reduced or withdrawn, with the money redirected to community programmes.

Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck. But as local officials rethink their own police forces in the wake of Floyd's death, it remains to be seen how many will follow in the footsteps of Minneapolis or pursue less drastic reforms. We are expected now to deal with cyber crime and the opioid crisis. An aerial view of protesters gathering at Brentwood State Park to protest the recent death of George Floyd on May 30, 2020 in Brentwood, New York. What does it mean to defund the police? In the wake of Floyd's death and ongoing protests, Minneapolis is likely to also become a test case – and potential model – for what it looks like to dismantle and restructure its police force. Want more KPBS news?Find us on Twitter and Facebook, or sign up for our newsletters. "What we do need is increased funding for housing, we need increased funding for education, we need increased funding for quality of life of communities who are over-policed and over-surveilled.". It found that although the majority of victims of lethal force by police were white, the fatality rate among black people was 2.8 times higher than among white people. Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. That’s not the training, that’s not the institution," Cullors told WBUR. Payroll gains in October pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic as the country braces for a surge in coronavirus cases. Need help keeping up with the news that matters most? Detractors of the defund movement expressed concern that it would lead to increased crime. "The reality is that America's social order has never been entirely equitable," Vitale told NPR. And, even some who say abolish, do not necessarily mean to do away with law enforcement altogether.

So then it places police in this completely untenable situation, because they completely lack the tools to make this problem any better," Vitale told NPR. This is the 12th day of protests since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. Across the country, protests against Floyd's death have set off days and nights of rage as its the most recent in a series of deaths of black Americans by the police. What Does It Mean to Defund the Police? Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Some protestors have said they support "defunding" the police and activists are urging the City Council to reject a proposed increase to the police department and redirect money to other services. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Here's what's behind the movement to defund the police. Information, download KPBS Midday Edition is a daily radio news magazine keeping San Diego in the know on everything from politics to the arts. More than 1.1 million people applied for some kind of jobless aid last week. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has also embraced budget cuts to his city's police force.