The Iowa Standard reached out to all federal and state legislative candidates to find out where they stand on the idea of defunding police and abolishing both the police and prisons. This idea is supported by Des Moines Black Lives Matter.
Three candidates are running in Iowa House District 76 — David Maxwell (Republican), Sarah Smith (Democrat) and Kamal Hammouda (Third Party).
Here is Hammouda’s response:
“Timely question. The short answer is no, but it is not a simple issue. Law enforcement agencies are an essential component of our societies but they need major changes. They are not trained for mental health intervention but they are often are called because we lack that. They are not trained to settle family disputes but they are often called for that. Both of these are prevalent occurrences and they should be handled by trained individuals without guns. Police forces, especially in major metro areas are so militarized. Why? Because they can. It is not a good way to spend our limited resources. As for prisons, they are more penal system rather than a correctional one, again wasted resources, especially the so many incarcerated due to minor infractions and/or unable to raise bail money for the same.”
