@Brownieinfo
Brooklyn New York
The funding that the police forces around America receive seems a bit uncontrolled. They usually take up ⅔ of the city funds. That means that every other social service, such as schools, hospitals, etc doesn’t receive as much funding. This results in them not being able to function at their full potential which ends up affecting the lives of the citizens
Reasons that drive the funding
The reason the police forces need so much funding is that there are so many benefits that come with being a police officer. Evidence states that 97% of the police expenses go into operational expenses such as salaries, pension, etc. lawmakers have noticed that most police officers join the forces for these benefits and how reducing the funds will end up with a lot within the police force quitting. But Tara O’Neil Hayes has given another perspective saying how putting the extra money in other social services such as schools and youth programs would work in character development for a lot of the kids. She stated-Finally, advocates argue that greater investment in community needs, including education, health care, economic development, and youth activities, will reduce crime and the need for police in the first place.”
How can we control the funding but also keep the community safe?
This issue is not as complicated as many people think it is. One of the reasons why crime rates are prevalent in a city is because of illiteracy rates. Kids in schools are not paying attention and are not interested enough to continue studying and most end up dropping out. This results in them not being educated enough about the economy and equity. This funding that is provided for the schools is not enough and we can see that through different statistics. Ray Rashawn had an interesting point to this issue. He states-“One consistent finding in the social science literature is that if we want to reduce crime, education equity and the establishment of a working infrastructure is the best approach.” This quote is pretty relevant in order to find the solution to this issue. Many crimes occur due to desperation or feeling the need to survive. If schools and communities can provide that for the students they will stay away from that life which would result in crimes decreasing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the excess funding is affecting the citizens and the communities. Due to excess funding, the other parts of the government, which are built to take care of its citizens, are not financially strong enough to keep supporting them. That’s why allocating money to the right sectors is so important.. More research is needed on this topic by others to find the perfect solution to this problem. Reallocating the funds doesn’t necessarily mean abolishing the police. It means that rather than having a one-size-for-all fit, we need to do our research and see which sectors would need more or less “funding” which would help us all grow as a community.
