Why ‘Defund the Police’ Is a Chant With Many Meanings 

“Defund the police” has become a rallying cry at protests around the country, a thorny art project in the nation’s capital and a cudgel that President Donald Trump is trying to wield against his opponents. The simplicity of the phrase belies the complicated nature of the debate. The “defund” movement runs along a spectrum, from those in Minneapolis who would disband and rebuild their police department (on the theory that the current department’s culture is too pervaded by racism and violence), to those in New York City or Los Angeles who advocate reallocation of spending and reform of police practices.

Different things to different people. The city government in Minneapolis is pursuing the complete disbanding of its police department, not just in reaction to the killing of George Floyd, but also because of poor performance fighting crime. Elsewhere, discussions are more nuanced, and defunding means spending less on police overtime and equipment and more on mental-health care, housing, education and violence-prevention initiatives. The justification for diverting law enforcement funding toward those purposes is based on the premise that a robust police force is not the only way to prevent crime. A movement to adopt so-called People’s Budgets, emphasizing social-service programs, has taken hold in American cities including Los Angeles, Nashville and New York.