Hello all, Officer J reporting in.  I’d like to take a minute to talk to you about a hot button issue in the country currently.  Officer E and myself have talked about this issue and it completely blows our minds that people even think this is a viable option.  Defund the police.

Defund the police? Defund the police, you say?  Never in my life have I heard such a wild statement.  I heard chatter about this before reading any articles about it.  Then, I took to the Internet to find more information because I thought that the chatter I had heard had to be misinformed.  The articles I read were unbelievable to me.  Several people from the world of academia are calling for abolishment of police departments or to remove funds from police officers and reallocate the funds to housing, healthcare, or social services.  

An ABC News article I recently read, stated, “Instead of sending police officers to respond to disturbance calls, activists argue, why not send mental health workers or community leaders?”  Think about that for a second.  Why does someone call 911?  They call 911 because they need help and they need help now.  The situation the call is currently in is out of their control and they need someone to take control of the situation.  After taking control of the situation they need someone to put things, “back in order for them.”  That is what law enforcement all over the country do thousands of times each day.  Obviously, these academics have never been in a life or death situation where they needed immediate assistance. 

From years of personal experience, I know for a fact that law enforcement are sometimes the only individuals who can calm a situation.  In another article I observed, places like Detroit Michigan have already started cutting the police budget.  Violent crime has increased dramatically because of these budget cuts.  According to the article, “During 80 days of the coronavirus lockdown, 18 children were shot in Detroit.”  Another shocking statistic in the article stated, “In the city, there have been 100 homicides so far this year, a 25 percent spike over last year, and there have been 271 non-fatal shootings, an increase of 30 percent.”  Those statistics are staggering, especially with the COVID – 19 lockdowns that were in place.  Can you imagine living in Detroit and calling 911 for police assistance because of a “disturbance,” and a mental health worker showing up to a shooting situation?  

I know this is hard to believe, especially for the police officers reading this, (I really hope my sarcasm is showing right now) but we do not always have all the facts before arriving.  There have been numerous times where a disturbance call was in fact a suspect with a gun, a legitimate shots fired call, or a large fight.  Who do you want coming to one of those calls, social worker or police officer?  Apparently in Albuquerque, New Mexico this will be the reality.  According to a FoxNews report they created a civilian public safety branch to respond to calls of, “inebriation, homelessness, addiction and mental health.”

Also a problem with “defunding,” the police is a problem of retention of quality officers or the ability to hire new quality officers.  Police officers on average make low wages when compared to other professions.  According to indeed.com average salary for a rookie police officer nationwide is $45,681.00.  This figure seems high, in my jurisdiction and surrounding jurisdictions the average starting salary is $30,000 – $35,000.  Budget cuts, stress of the job, constant scrutiny, extreme sacrifice, and hardship on their families, have caused officers to quit or move on to other careers in my local area.  Hell, hiring new recruits has become almost impossible.

It’s a dire situation our country is in.  The media has villainized law enforcement.  Several weeks ago the country was in support of first responders and healthcare workers, when we were needed.  My how the media has turned things around the last few weeks. The current landscape is trying to strip money from departments who have already had their budgets slashed year after year and are barely able to operate as is.

Hopefully this idea doesn’t become a reality nationwide, even though some jurisdictions are already starting.  Thanks for reading.  If you have comments or suggestions please share.

Always watch your six and keep your brothers and sisters in blue safe.