There’s never a cop around when you need one. This is kind of been a running joke for years. But with the potential for defunding this may in fact become even more reality. Lets say the average response time in some communities is under 5 minutes for police to show up to some event. Once you start looking at defunding police, what does that do to your response time? For things like heart attacks, overdoses or critical injuries a minute makes a difference. While the focus of the defunding movement has largely focused on support for community mental health, it is likely to negatively impact many areas.
Specialized Services
One of the things that typically happens when department’s are defunded is that special functions of police department’s are often the first thing to go. After training, many special functions often end up on the chopping block. Some of these include DARE programs for specialized drug programs, MDT functions for sexual abuse, school resource officers, K-9 programs, and various community outreach programs. Supplies also get cut. Narcan can cost $25 or more per dose. Reducing the supply on hand can reduce costs, but it can also mean the difference in life or death for many overdose calls. Sending someone back to the station to get a supply item increases response time, and reduces survivability for overdose cases.
One in four students is subject to bullying in school. Resource officers in schools can help minimize the impact of bullying and address situations before they become more violent. It can also help create a safer environment for both teachers and students. Take this away, and what do you have?
Roughly the same ratios apply to children being victims of sexual abuse. Having police with special training are crucial for victims coming forward, and to collect information correctly to aid in prosecution.
Eliminating these functions through defunding, puts some of our most vulnerable children further at risk. There’s never a cop around when you need one has many implications.
Having a Plan
Having a plan that highlights all the functions of a police department makes key services more visible. It’s easy to say “Cut your budget 20%”. It’s another thing to look at the details of how money is being spent. Then figure out how to scale it back. Showing that a 20% budget cut will result in X additional overdose deaths, X teachers being assaulted in their classroom, and X students committing suicide as a result of bullying, etc. at least makes people think about the actions they might be taking.
