How do we think about institutional racism in the American police force?

A reduced police presence is dangerous for everyone

Question: How do we think about institutional racism in the American police force?
Position‹2 of 3›: 'The police are not the issue!': The police should not be blamed for the problems of a racialized society
Argument‹2 of 7›: A reduced police presence is dangerous for everyone

This important debate about race relations has been subverted by emphasis on the police. Much academic research has shown that increasing visible police presence reduces crime rates. The same cannon of research shows that areas with higher crime rates have more police. Scaling back law enforcement would have dangerous repercussions for all. Proponents include Fox anchor Laura Ingraham and Republican senator Ted Cruz.

The argument

This important debate about race relations has been subverted by an emphasis on the police. Those who argue for a reduction in police department size or abolishment of police altogether are ignoring the many studies that have shown that an increased police force does have an impact on crime reduction, particularly in property crime. Even police strikes of the past have resulted in increased crime rates, and areas with extra police presence have shown decreases in crime. The police force utilizes other policing tactics that aren’t limited to patrols and arrests, such as digital tactics and data collection which successfully aid in crime reduction. This is a tool that is overlooked in the discussion about the usefulness of police. Hiring increases in police departments have shown an increase in community policing and a reduction in crime rates within those communities. Increased police presence often deters criminality, and an increase in police does not necessarily mean more arrests or more incarceration.

Premises

[P1]Numerous studies show larger police forces reduce crime, especially property crime, while past police strikes have produced spikes in crime and areas with extra police presence show decreases. [P2] Police also cut crime through non-arrest tactics like digital methods and data collection, and hiring increases have raised community policing and lowered crime without necessarily increasing arrests or incarceration. [C] Because reducing or abolishing police would endanger everyone, the police should not be blamed for the problems of a racialized society.

Counter-arguments

The majority of studies on whether increased police departments reduce crime are murky at best, and many show little to no difference in reducing crime rates. Many incidents that police are called for often require more interpersonal and social work skills than police are trained for, so their increased presence is ineffective in reducing complex and violent crimes. Funding could be better utilized in community programs that work to effectively reduce crimes and utilizing police presence only when and where it is truly necessary, such as high-alert or crime hotspots.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The findings are narrower than the premise: the better-identified studies estimate the effect of adding officers at the margin in specific cities, mostly on property and index crimes, and strike episodes are short, chaotic and few — none of which supports a general claim about what happens if a force is reorganised or partly defunded. [Rejecting P2] The conclusion does not follow from the premises even if they hold: showing that police reduce crime says nothing about whether the institution distributes its enforcement unequally, which is the question this debate asks — so the argument answers a case about effectiveness that the opposing position did not make.

Proponents cited

Inimai M. Chettiar
“Adding more police officers, and adopting strong, proven management techniques, can actually reduce the rate of crime.”
Ted Cruz
“We know that violent crime disproportionally affects low-income communities, and that law enforcement plays a critical role in protecting life and preserving a free and functioning society. We also know that law enforcement has an important responsibility in upholding our criminal justice system. Though our nation has taken many troubled turns on our continuing march toward justice, defunding and abolishing police departments will undoubtedly take us backward in that endeavor.”
Laura Ingraham
“In Alaska, where one-third of villages have no police officers at all, a 2019 investigation by the liberal group ProPublica found that "Sexual abuse runs rampant. Public safety resources scarce." In 2018, East Pittsburgh dissolved its police force after an officer shot and killed a black teenager. Guess what happened next? Violent crime went up and black communities were some of the hardest hit.”