“Stop financing the police” – this radical appeal of the protesters was partially fulfilled in New York. The NYPD (New York Police Department) has been deprived of a billion dollars – one sixth of its budget.
Why this has outraged not only supporters of law and order, but also those who campaigned for such measures,” RIA Novosti reported.
Shorten and dismiss
The city council made its decision on Wednesday, July 1. New York City Mayor Bill De Blazio said there are many innovations waiting for the New York City police.
Two out of four training courses will be canceled. They’re gonna take away surveillance of illegal trade. Will be banned from responding to challenges related to the homeless and the mentally ill – social services will do it. Staff working in schools, in fact – guards, will be transferred to the Department of Education. As a result, NYPD will not have to hire 1163 recruits. All this will save the budget $484 million.
Another 500 million will be redirected to other agencies for targeted projects. For example, to work with young people in disadvantaged areas.
Too soft and extremely hard
However, the protesters did not approve these plans. Activists rebuked De Blasio for simply transferring the police to other structures.
The disgruntled gathered outside the town hall. Hundreds of people with the posters “Invest in Education”, “Invest in Food”, “Invest in the Elderly” demanded more drastic changes.
The NGO Vocal-NY saw the city council’s actions as betrayal of the movement, especially its black young leaders: “The funds and power of the police have been preserved, not a single cop wearing a NYPD uniform has been fired”.
The authorities are under pressure from the other side as well. “The mayor and the city council have turned the city into lawlessness,” said Patrick Lynch, president of New York’s largest police union, the Police Benefactors Association. He has repeatedly warned that if the police are reduced, the city will sink into chaos. “They shoot twice as many people as they did last week. Even now, the NYPD doesn’t have enough staff to send employees from one district to another,” he reminded officials.
There’s no unity in the city, either. The decision to cut the police budget was not taken unanimously: 32 – for, 17 – against.
Cory Johnson, speaker of the City Council, for example, admitted that he feels between the hammer and the anvil. “I appeal to all those who are disappointed – and I know there are so many… I’m disappointed too,” he said.
Danick Miller, co-chairman of the City Council’s Black, Latin and Asian Cocos, is also dissatisfied: “Black guys like everyone else want to be safe, we just want to be respected.
And there’s no consensus at the federal level. Both parties in Congress agree: Police reform is necessary. But it doesn’t go any further.
Democrats in the senate, although their minority, have blocked the “Justice Law” of the Republicans. Then in the Lower House, they passed their draft “George Floyd Justice Act”. Before being sent to the president for his signature, the document must be approved by the Senate. But it’s unlikely to happen, the Republicans will interfere.
“It is a blatant shame that an ordinary citizen of this country will not be able to benefit from the points on which Democrats and Republicans are in solidarity,” outrages Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the upper house.
What do the cops think
The police are generally supportive of innovation. But the details are different.
To prevent the excessive use of force, law enforcement officers are required to wear body cells. This is approved by 66% of the staff interviewed. About half of them think that the cell forces a police officer to follow the rules more strictly, but 44% think this measure is useless.
The vast majority of police officers say that tragic incidents involving the death of African Americans in detention have made it difficult for them to work. At the same time, only a third see this as a systemic problem, while 67 per cent insist that it is only isolated cases. At the same time, more than half believe that in some areas police officers should be even more aggressive. And only about a third agree that colleagues should be held accountable.
When it comes to protests over police violence, the vast majority of law enforcement officials point to the partiality of demonstrators. One of them is William Woods, a former police officer from North Carolina.
“Of course, the use of force is a problem arising from the complex history of black community relations with the police. But African Americans are about 13 percent of the population, and they commit half the violent crimes. There are several structural reasons for this. The police presence is, of course, more visible in black areas”, – he explained in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
Police officers, continues Woods, serve the people because their chiefs are appointed by elected officials.
“It sounds trite, but it’s true. That’s why the police can’t act on purpose to spite someone”, – he says.
“If an officer feels that he or others are being threatened with death or serious injury, he has the right to use a weapon”, – he says. For example, trying to touch a policeman’s gun is a violation of the law and a presumption that the equipment can be used against an officer. A fire to kill in such a situation is justified. However, if the episode seems controversial, says Woods, the police department, local and federal authorities will conduct an investigation. No one’s going to ignore that.
“I would support the creation of a new database on a national scale to catalogue every case of police use of force, whether large or small, with a body camera attached. However, my experience is that the police are acting inappropriately much less than protesters would expect”, – Woods insists.
The need for reform is recognized by all – the public, the police and the authorities. But given that neither the former, nor the latter, nor the latter can offer a one-size-fits-all approach and are not ready to compromise, transformation will long remain an element of political play. And real change will never happen.