Boston Mayor Considering Defunding the Police

If you have been watching the news or been to any of the recent protests, you've probably heard the call to "defund the police".  I have to admit, hearing that statement is a scary thing to me.  What would that mean for our communities?

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is aware of it, according to Boston.com.  Walsh says that he is considering reallocating funds that were earmarked for police.  That money would go to community programs, training, community involvement.  Walsh does tell Boston.com that he does not think completely defunding the police department is the way to go.

In Minneapolis, Council Members have voted to disband their police department and start from the ground up in the wake of the George Floyd killing, according to the NY Times.  Council Members did not have specifics on what a rebuilding would look like but told the NY Times that they would work with the community to develop plans for what would be a new public safety system.

According to Seacoast Online, "defund the police" does not mean to eliminate police departments altogether, but rather reallocate funds within the department to better serve communities.

I'm all for more community programs and involvement, but not having enough police officers with the training and equipment they need to do their jobs properly doesn't seem like the answer to me. I definitely would need to learn more about it. What do you think?