- Question
Should the police be defunded?
The process of defunding the police involves diverting funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-police forms of public safety such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare, and other community resources.
Yes, the police should be defunded
This position holds that the police should be defunded. It argues that society would be better served by reallocating police budgets to social and public services — addressing the root causes of crime and violence — that need the money more than law enforcement does.
No, the police should not be defunded
This position holds that the police should not be defunded. It argues that cutting police budgets would first hit community-engagement and humane policing programmes rather than weapons and equipment, and that forces need adequate funding to prevent and respond to crime.