The national debate about defunding police departments needs to factor in other social services provided by local government, according to a comment by Ford School courtesy professor Christian Davenport on the issue in a news report for WDIV in Detroit.
Davenport says he believes the issue of defunding the police goes further than money, and more into investment in communities through education and housing programs.
“Why do the police end up addressing a bunch of topics that they’re not trained to deal with? Well, that’s because systematically a bunch of resources were taken from other agencies or organizations or individuals which basically left them to carry that burden,” he says.
The report states that in 2019, the city of Detroit spent $294 million of the general fund on the police department -- more than the fire, housing, law, health and economic development departments combined.
You can read the report here.
