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If They Break Into My House
When you talk with people about defunding the police, you usually get a slightly sneering response, “Well, what would you do if someone were breaking into your house? You’d call the police then, right?’ Fair question, mate, but the answer is no, I wouldn’t. I’ll tell you what I would do in a minute. First, I want to share another relevant conversation.
Me: Defund the police.
Rhonda, an 84 year old neighbor: We can’t do that. When I was a child, my father’s store was broken into several times. We always called the police. What else could we do?
Me: And what did the police do for you?
Rhonda: Well, they would write down damage they saw and list what we told them had been stolen.
Me: Did you ever get anything back?
Rhonda: I don’t think so. It was a long time ago, but I don’t remember anything like that. We needed to file a police report for the insurance company to reimburse us.
Aha! Rhonda’s story is a perfect example of all the things we have police do that could be better done by someone else. A clerk could have taken that report, or a community worker. Why do we arm police to the teeth and train them in military operations when we want them to take reports or keep a depressed person from killing themselves? We need social workers…
