It you don’t say what you mean, you don’t mean what you say.
Vallejo, California cut their police force from 150 to 80. Nearly one-third of the city’s homicides since 2012 have been by committed by police.
Vallejo, California defunded its police force. Fatal police shootings soared. – The Washington Post:
Danté R. Quick, pastor at Vallejo’s Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and a lead organizer of the city’s protests after the death of Floyd, said he worries that some of his fellow activists have too simplistic an understanding of what police reform entails.
“Our police department is woefully ‘defunded’ — which has led to overworked, underpaid and therefore underqualified police officers,” Quick said. “Do I really want a man or woman who’s worked 16 hours straight, with a gun in their hand, with state-sanctioned ability to take my life, who is tired — do I want that person authorized to police me? The answer to that is no.”
Defund the police is a pithy slogan, but it’s a stupid idea. “Reform,” “Reimagine,” and “Reinvent” are all better verbs.