'Defund the police' is dead. Long live police reform.

Voting.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

"Defund the police" is a dead idea. That's actually been true for some months now, but any doubts about the notion's viability should be ended entirely after Tuesday's election results in Minneapolis, where voters rejected an opportunity to replace the police department with a Department of Public Safety. For good measure, two Minneapolis City Council members who supported the swap also lost their seats.

If residents of the heavily Democratic city where George Floyd was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin won't back a radical reimagination of law enforcement, who will? Almost nobody.

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These days, moreover, fear of crime has returned; almost two thirds of Americans now believe crime is a "very big problem." Pew finds nearly half want police funding increased — and, notably, Black and Hispanic Democrats are more likely to back that funding bump than their white counterparts. Places like Austin, Texas — where voters on Tuesday rejected a measure to increase the budget of the local police department — are the exception, not the rule.

So what's next for reformers, then? For one thing, they should drop the "defund the police" slogan entirely. It was always a sloppy way to refer to a varying set of ideas that only occasionally involved defunding. And there are plenty of other paths to pursue: An April poll by Data for Progress suggests voters will support candidates who would end qualified immunity want to fund non-police interventions in emergencies involving substance abuse or mental illness.

"Defund the police" might be dead, but the possibilities for reform are still very much alive.

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.