{"id":19774,"date":"2020-06-10T15:35:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T20:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=19774"},"modified":"2020-07-02T11:47:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T16:47:04","slug":"defund-reform-madison-police-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/defund-reform-madison-police-department\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s time to repeal and largely replace the police"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to know the goals of the protestors taking to the streets of Madison each day? Look no further than the ground under your feet<\/a> on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefund the police\u201d has become a rallying cry in the wake of George Floyd\u2019s death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department<\/a>, and it has unsurprisingly left a lot of people shook. To some it sounds radical, even scary. The notion invites wild west lawlessness in which cities devolve into chaos. But in reality, it may be the most effective fix to reign in the country\u2019s renegade police culture.<\/p>\n

For starters, defunding the police doesn\u2019t mean getting rid of cops. Law enforcement isn\u2019t going to disappear overnight; this won\u2019t become The Purge<\/em>. Rather, it\u2019s a realignment of priorities in a way that benefits both communities and the departments intended to serve and protect them.<\/p>\n

But there are a lot of misconceptions about the #defundthepolice movement floating around, so I\u2019m going to try and clear some of them up.<\/span>\n

What does \u201cdefund the police\u201d mean?<\/h2>\n

Right now, police departments nationwide are given astronomical budgets, often at the expense of other essential social services. The Madison Police Department\u2019s operating budget is over $80 million<\/a>. Slashing MPD funding would allow for some of that money to be allocated to things like affordable housing and mental health resources.<\/span>\n

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The End of Policing by @avitale<\/a> is still free to download on our website.<\/p>\n

The problem is not overpolicing, it is policing itself.https:\/\/t.co\/CmxBi9n135<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/2o4LeVNmLq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Verso Books (@VersoBooks) June 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n