What Are the Realities of Defunding Law Enforcement?
Typically, eighty (80) to eighty-five (85) percent of a law enforcement agencies budget is non-discretionary. Non-Discretionary funding is usually associated with personnel costs, wages, insurance, retirement annuities. Discretionary funding is typically the funding that pays for utility costs, vehicle costs, training, equipment, and special programs. Funding reductions can only be met by reduction of programs and discretionary funds and or the reduction of personnel. It is not unusual for medium sized police departments fifty (50) to one hundred and fifty (150) officers to have training budgets that are restricted to twenty-five (25) thousand to fifty (50) thousand dollars, to include travel and per diem costs.
Politicians are commonly calling for or are supporting platforms that call for the reduction of police funding. Recently, the United States Congress passed a Federal Crime Bill that outlined a reduction of 1.46 Billion dollars but creating a Federal Task Force and database to track police misconduct. This reduction also resulted in a one-third (1/3) reduction of funding for Crime Victims. As funding is decreased, there area increased demands for Community Policing as well as mandates for additional training. As it is, most states only require between sixteen (16) and forty (40) hours of annual in-service training, where current training budgets are barely able to meet the current mandates.
Community Policing is expensive, it requires manpower and constant training. Unfortunately, the political short sightedness is resulting in significant impacts that will have long lasting, on crime, communities, and public trust. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on December 20, 2020 that the San Francisco Police Department’s budget was reduced by millions of dollars. The direct result of these budget cuts is that social and community workers responding to and removing homeless encampments will not longer have police protection. One of the department’s greatest successes in the reduction of gun violence will be terminated.
Small departments are also dealing with budget cuts. Burlington Vermont as reported on December 13, 2020 that the Burlington Police Department will no longer be able to patrol between the hours of 03:00 am and 07:30 am. Only the police department will be staffed and will respond only to serious calls for service.
The Minneapolis Police Department, as reported by the Associated Press, are reportedly set to receive an 8-million-dollar budget reduction without a reduction in personnel. The only way these types of cuts can be absorbed is through attrition and reduction of training, equipment, and services.
The way that most agencies meet budget reductions in the reduction of services, personnel reductions and reduction or elimination of in-service training. The significant trends show that this is the time that community policing is needed most. Additionally, increases to in-service as well as specialized training and community programs are needed now more than ever.