Recently we have heard a lot of talk about defunding our police in this country. This talk started in Minneapolis and has since spread to large and medium cities in our nation. Instead of defunding the police, I prefer to defend our police. These brave folks have done nothing but protected and served us through all the targeting and anger of the mobs who are rioting and looting.
To date over 13 cities have slashed their police force’s budget or shifted funds away from the police. Others are considering doing the same. So far, no city in Iowa (that I know of) has cut their police budget. Cities like Austin TX, San Francisco, Oakland, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Portland, and Minneapolis have already done so.
Interestingly, many of these cities are where there is tremendous rioting right now. Minneapolis has gone even further and voted to disband their police department, and we all know the situation in Minneapolis with its riots and mayhem.
In my 25-year military career, I have been some bad places in the world and no place is as great as our country. Even still, I can tell you that places with poor police coverage or no police coverage are the worst of the worst. No matter where we go, there are always going to bad people and that is true of the United States as well. We need those folks who take an oath to protect us, keep us safe, and keep the bad people in check or we have chaos (which is likely what some want).
Recently I had a discussion on Facebook about defunding the police. One person told me that the systematic defunding of police departments across the country isn’t happening. When I told her the list of cities who have already done so, she resorted to name calling. Another person was adamant that we should defund and abolish the police.
This is a very dangerous way of thinking. When your car breaks down on the interstate, who pulls over to assist you? If someone breaks into your home or business, who are you going to call for help? When an angry mob comes to your town or city and start burning down buildings, who is going to keep your family safe from the chaos?
I understand the thought of some of these cities is to replace police with mental health workers or some other social worker type of employee. They believe that by decreasing the law enforcement footprint, they can increase these services. I just disagree with how that is being done as I think defunding a police department at this time is not a smart decision for the safety of our communities. On the other hand, cities like Austin, Texas have cut 1/3 of their police budget and reinvested much of that sum into social programs including food access, abortion access, and violence prevention. Unfortunately, I believe that Austin will become a city where crime will increase exponentially in the coming years and will be unsafe soon because of this.
As for me, I support our police and law enforcement 100 percent and can’t express enough the thankfulness I have for our men and women who put their lives on the line each day for us. I encourage each of you to thank an officer whenever you can. I don’t lose an opportunity to shake a uniformed officer hand and I hope you will do the same.
When we are in danger, in trouble, or in need we rely on the police to be there. And they will be there. When most run away from trouble, our police run towards it, and they do that daily. When we talk about law and order, our law enforcement from the Federal Government down to our local police each has a role and should be respected.
