{"id":2709,"date":"2021-10-01T14:08:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T14:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/?p=2709"},"modified":"2021-10-01T14:39:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T14:39:49","slug":"3-reasons-why-defunding-the-police-is-a-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/3-reasons-why-defunding-the-police-is-a-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Reasons Why Defunding the Police Is a Bad Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Police-Badge.jpg\" alt=\"A discarded police badge\" class=\"wp-image-2598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Police-Badge.jpg 640w, https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Police-Badge-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Police-Badge-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I always thought that defunding the police is a bad idea for one simple and obvious reason: Less police leads to more crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then I found out that Leftists believe there\u2019s a lot of police brutality against minorities due to systemic racism built into the institutions of law enforcement. They want to defund the police so that the money can be better spent on programs to help poorer communities which would prevent crime in the first place and alternative methods of policing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, defunding the police is actually a bad idea for <strong><em>three<\/em><\/strong> reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. We Shouldn\u2019t Ruin Something That\u2019s Working So Well<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, that\u2019s right, there\u2019s no systemic racism in the institutions of law enforcement and there\u2019s no police brutality. And as this is something relatively unique when considering human history, any defunding would be a very bad idea indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now before you get all worked up \/ offended \/ triggered \/ all the above, and claim I\u2019m a racist \/ bigot \/ xenophobe \/ all the above, please understand the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not saying that there\u2019s no systemic racism or police brutality in the institutions of law enforcement. I\u2019m saying that there\u2019s no systemic racism or police brutality in the institutions of law enforcement <strong>and<\/strong> that as one of the few societies to have achieved this we should be very proud of our success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ok, now you can get all worked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Statistics Say There\u2019s No Police Brutality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now I know that there are a handful of high profile, blown-out-of-proportion, examples of police brutality, that are repeatedly analyzed from multiple angles on every news program for months while we wait ages for another one to occur, but they just prove my point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you didn\u2019t understand that last paragraph, don\u2019t worry. It just means you\u2019re morally superior to me. And if you don\u2019t understand this paragraph, don\u2019t worry either. It also means you\u2019re morally superior to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at some statistics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>In the United States, there are in total, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/191694\/number-of-law-enforcement-officers-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about 700,000<\/a> police officers.<\/li><li>The number of people shot to death by the police in the US is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/585152\/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about 1000<\/a> a year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Number of People Killed by the Police<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>2017<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">987<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2018<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">996<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2019<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1004<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2020<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1021<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ignoring whether or not these deaths are justified, these two facts prove that there\u2019s no police brutality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there are 700,000 police officers, how many interactions do each of them have a day with criminals? One, two, three? How many interactions do each of them have with violent criminals? Let\u2019s lowball all of this and suggest that only a third of the police come into contact with any criminals at all and then only once a month with violent criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doing the math:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>700,000 \u00f7 3 = 233,333<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">A third of the police<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>1 <\/strong><strong>\u00d7 <\/strong><strong>12 = 12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">No. of interactions b\/w one officer and violent criminals a year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>233,333 <\/strong><strong>\u00d7 <\/strong><strong>12 = 2,799,996<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Total no. of interactions b\/w police and violent criminals a year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, there are almost three million interactions between police and violent criminals a year. Three million interactions between law enforcement and the worst elements of society where the former is expected to protect us from the unpleasant actions of the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And only 1000 people killed by the police! What could be a better example of <strong>the absence<\/strong> of police brutality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, a police force that kills only 500 people a year, or zero but you get the point. No one\u2019s claiming the police are perfect and that nothing should be done to improve things, but this does prove the situation to be the exact opposite of what the Left claim it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And no police brutality means defunding them would be a very bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Statistics Say the Police Aren\u2019t Systemically Racist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now some may argue that I\u2019ve missed the point. Because proportionally speaking, more black people are killed by the police than white people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meaning, although numbers wise, far more white people are killed by the police than black &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>White<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Black<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Other<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>2017<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">457<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">223<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">307<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">987<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2018<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">399<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">209<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">388<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">996<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2019<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">370<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">235<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">399<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1004<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2020<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">457<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">241<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">323<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1021<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8211; when you take into account the percentage both races make of the total US population, more black people and fewer white people are killed than one would expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since white people comprise 72% of the US population and black people 13.4%, white people should be 72% of people killed by the police and black people 13.4%, and the numbers <strong>should be<\/strong> more like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>White<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Black<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Other<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>2017<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">711<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">132<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">144<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">987<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2018<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">717<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">133<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">145<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">996<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2019<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">723<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">135<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">147<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1004<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2020<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">735<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">137<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">149<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1021<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So although 1000 deaths is not that many in context, the huge discrepancy where more black people are killed than expected and less white people are killed than expected, proves the existence of systemic racism in law enforcement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is an upside down and inside out way of looking at things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because when deciding whether or not the police are racist, the relative number of black and white people in the US as a whole is irrelevant. Since the job of the police is to <strong>deal with people who commit crimes<\/strong> it\u2019s the makeup of that population which is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And let\u2019s see what the statistics say about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Black people comprise over <a href=\"https:\/\/ucr.fbi.gov\/crime-in-the-u.s\/2015\/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015\/tables\/table-43\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50%<\/a> of people arrested for murder<\/li><li>Black people commit approximately the <a href=\"https:\/\/ucr.fbi.gov\/crime-in-the-u.s\/2018\/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018\/tables\/expanded-homicide-data-table-6.xls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">same number<\/a> of murders as white people<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the number of black and white people in the population of people who commit violent crimes <strong>is the same<\/strong>, it\u2019s not surprising at all that more black people are killed than you may have otherwise expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What <strong>is<\/strong> surprising is that so many more white people are killed by the police when the numbers should be closer to being the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s almost as if the police are being extra careful not to kill black criminals for fear of Leftists getting all worked up \/ offended \/ triggered \/ all the above, and claiming the police are racists \/ bigots \/ xenophobes \/ all the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In any event, the police are clearly not racist.&nbsp; And defunding a police force that\u2019s anything but brutal or racist is a very bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Reallocating the Police Budget Won\u2019t Prevent Crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Defunding the police and reallocating the money for programs to help poorer communities won\u2019t prevent crime, which is why it\u2019s a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By now you\u2019re probably frothing at the mouth and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/dictionary.com\" target=\"_blank\">apoplectic<\/a> with rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And all because despite what I wrote, you probably read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2026it\u2019s a bad idea to give money to help poorer communities\u2026\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I\u2019ll explain again. For those who already understood I apologize for the repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not against giving money to help poorer communities. I\u2019m against giving them money designated for law enforcement. Because while we need to help poorer communities, we also need law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you think the money <strong>can<\/strong> be reallocated to help poorer communities because it will also help law enforcement by preventing crime from happening in the first place, you\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, I know that there\u2019s a direct link between poverty and crime and I know that you\u2019re more likely to commit crime if you\u2019re poor and I know that it therefore seems that reallocating the police budget to reduce poverty will also reduce crime, but as I said, you\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It won\u2019t work and it\u2019s a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For both a practical reason and a more fundamental reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Practical Reason \u2013 There\u2019s Not Enough Money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The practical reason why reallocating money to help poorer communities won\u2019t prevent crime is because there\u2019s not enough money to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some more facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The US police budget is about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/how-are-police-departments-funded-5115578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$115 billion<\/a> a year<\/li><li>Total US spending on welfare for 2020 is about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgovernmentspending.com\/welfare_spending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1.89 <strong>trillion<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li>There are approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=number+of+poor+people+in+us&amp;client=firefox-b-d&amp;ei=O99NYcevN4mxUNjqiLAP&amp;oq=number+of+poor+people+in+us&amp;gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgAEEcQsANKBAhBGABQwR5Y6x5gsCBoAnACeACAAXOIAdYBkgEDMS4xmAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&amp;sclient=gws-wiz&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiHuZ_c55fzAhWJGBQKHVg1AvYQ4dUDCA0&amp;uact=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">44 million Americans<\/a> living below the poverty line<\/li><li>The poverty line for a household with one person is <a href=\"https:\/\/aspe.hhs.gov\/topics\/poverty-economic-mobility\/poverty-guidelines\/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references\/2021-poverty-guidelines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$12,880<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With $1.89 <strong>trillion<\/strong> a year already spent on welfare and 44 million American\u2019s still living below the poverty line and more likely to commit crime, an extra $115 billion a year in programs will not suddenly bring them above the poverty line and cause a reduction in crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you skipped the programs and simply divided the money from the police budget among the poor, that would only amount to an extra ($115 billion \u00f7 44 million =)$2,614 a year each. This will still leave many below the poverty line and even for those \u201ccatapulted\u201d above the poverty line, if they were likely to commit crime when having less than $12,880, this small increase is not going to make much difference to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now obviously you can simply fund those who live in extreme poverty or those who you think are more likely to commit crimes, but I\u2019m not convinced that those who fall into the category of extreme poverty are more likely to commit crimes than those who are merely below the poverty line, or that you know who\u2019s more likely to commit crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you\u2019re wrong you won\u2019t have a police force to fall back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why reallocating money to help poorer communities and prevent crime, won\u2019t work in practice and is a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fundamental Reason \u2013 The Poor Value System Remains<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s actually a more fundamental reason why reallocating money to help poorer communities won\u2019t prevent crime and it\u2019s this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because you\u2019re more likely to commit a crime if you\u2019re poor, <strong>it doesn\u2019t mean<\/strong> that if you\u2019re poor you\u2019re likely to commit a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, if you\u2019re poor you\u2019re probably more likely <strong>not<\/strong> to commit a crime than to commit one. Not everyone uses their problems as an excuse to smash other people in the face and steal their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that the link is not between poverty and crime but between poverty <strong>combined<\/strong> with a poor value system and crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you may argue what difference does it make? There maybe two combined factors that are linked to crime but as long as you get rid of either one, you\u2019ll be reducing crime. Get rid of the factor of poverty and even if there\u2019s a poor value system, you\u2019ll have reduced crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only problem is that it\u2019s the factor of a poor value system that\u2019s the main cause of crime. This must be so because all poor people have the second factor in common (it\u2019s in the title- <strong>poor<\/strong> people) but not the poor value system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Removing the factor of poverty and keeping the factor of a poor value system will mean that when the next problem comes along, the two will combine and you\u2019ll have your original increased likelihood of crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why reallocating money to help poorer communities and prevent crime won\u2019t work and is a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides on what planet does one say that when there\u2019s a link between poverty combined with a poor value system and crime that to stop crime it\u2019s the poverty and not the poor value system that should be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s like when your child has a tantrum because you\u2019re not giving them what they want, and instead of insisting they behave properly you give in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, now I see why the Left thinks it\u2019s a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. There Are No Alternative Methods of Law Enforcement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Reallocating money for alternative methods of law enforcement is a bad idea because there aren\u2019t any. Defund the police all you want but any alternatives that you form to replace it, will be no different to what we have now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternative Methods <em>Are<\/em> Conventional Methods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the alternative methods of law enforcement that I\u2019ve come across are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Mediation and intervention teams<\/li><li>Community safety professionals<\/li><li>Violence interrupters<\/li><li>Peacemakers<\/li><li>Crime neutralizing specialists<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>My favorite is the last one because it\u2019s clever, it rolls of the tongue, and I came up with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of these teams would deal with low-level crimes such as minor disputes, traffic and road safety issues and incidents of mental health distress with the goal of mediating and intervening in such a way as to stop crime and \/ or violence before it can happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They would also build relationships with the local community, and maintaining a presence in schools and neighborhoods, so as to improve police-community relations, increase feelings of safety and reduce crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, if the alternative police fail to prevent the crime and \/ or violence, they can call the real \u2026 I mean the conventional police for backup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is, that this type of policing is actually a <strong>good idea<\/strong>. In fact, it\u2019s such a good idea that it\u2019s been going on for years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the police respond to low-level crime, they don\u2019t simply arrest the offender or shoot them in the face. No, they try to resolve the situation peacefully and stop it from escalating. They also spend time building relationships with the community with the goal of trying to prevent crime from occurring in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternative methods of law enforcement are basically the same as conventional methods of law enforcement, the only difference between them being that the conventional police don\u2019t have a fancy name for how they deal with low-level crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why reallocating money to \u2018alternative\u2019 methods of law enforcement is a bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternative Methods Aren\u2019t Better than Conventional Ones<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Left claim that alternative methods of law enforcement would be better for the following reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>They would be better trained in mediation and intervention<\/li><li>They would not be armed or have any police powers<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Left, being better trained means that they would be more likely to successfully defuse the situation, and being unarmed and without any police powers means that there would be no risk of the type of escalation that being armed and having police powers can cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this is dubious at best and wrong when being accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s true that conflict resolution specialists are better trained in conflict resolution. But the police are better trained at conflict resolution with criminals who have the moral caliber that makes them unlikely to respond to even the best conflict resolution techniques, without the threat of law enforcement in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also true that there\u2019s a greater risk of escalation with an armed police officer who has the power to enforce the law than with an unarmed police officer who can\u2019t, but since the plan is to call the conventional police if necessary, surely the alternative police will also cause an escalation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, they\u2019re less likely to cause an escalation but since the conventional police are highly unlikely to cause an escalation either, the difference between the two is so small that it doesn\u2019t really matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s go back to our earlier calculations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a third of the police come into contact with one low-level criminal a day, (we\u2019re still low-balling) then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>700,000 <\/strong><strong>\u00f7<\/strong><strong> 3 = 233,333<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">A third of the police<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>1 <\/strong><strong>\u00d7 <\/strong><strong>365 = 365<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">No. of interactions b\/w one officer and low-level criminals a year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>233,333 <\/strong><strong>\u00d7 <\/strong><strong>365 = 85,166,545<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Total no. of interactions b\/w police and low-level criminals a year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>1000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">No. of deaths \/ escalations by police a year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center for-close\"><strong>85,166,545 \u2013 1,000 = 85,165,545<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Total no. of interactions b\/w police and low-level criminals a year that don\u2019t escalate<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, there are more than 85 million interactions between police and low-level criminals a year that don\u2019t end in escalation and only 1000 that may have (some may have started violently). That\u2019s a probability of 1 in 85 thousand. So not very likely at all. I\u2019m not sure how much the alternative police can improve on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides, such an escalation might be justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean we\u2019re talking low-level crime here, so it\u2019s very strange that the presence of armed police with the power to enforce the law should cause an escalation. It\u2019s a low-level crime, so there\u2019s no point in the criminal escalating matters and even if the police enjoy being brutal, they could just wait for the next high-level crime and not risk their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One explanation might be that it\u2019s the criminal that escalates matters. I know, who would have thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps this is their umpteenth offence and this time they\u2019ll go to jail. Perhaps they\u2019re also doing a high-level crime at the same time. Perhaps they just don\u2019t like being told what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Either way, if these are the types of circumstances that can cause escalation to occur, then it turns out that the problem of armed police with the power to enforce the law escalating matters, is actually just <strong>the<\/strong> <strong>solution<\/strong> to criminals trying to avoid suffering the consequences of their crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So alternative methods of law enforcement are not better than conventional methods (if anything the reverse is true), and since the two are basically the same, reallocating money from one to the other would be a bad idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I always thought that defunding the police is a bad idea for one simple and obvious reason: Less police leads to more crime. Then I found out that Leftists believe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2709"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2735,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions\/2735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actualthinking.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}