The Defunding the Police Movement gained legs in the summer of 2020 when protests taking the form of riots became prevalent throughout US cities and small towns. They were a response to what many in society saw as the unfair and unethical treatment of minority citizens by the police. Noted cases of excessive use of force were brought to television screens nightly. Marches in the streets, the burning of American flags, attacks on government buildings, and the increased assaults on police officers were reminiscent of the 1960s when the questioning of social and justice institutions became the norm.
What changed, however, was a massive demand to defund law enforcement agencies that created a shortage of viable candidates to fill remaining police officer positions. The challenges of finding qualified police candidates have been realized throughout major cities, in suburban residential communities, and in resort towns that were previously seen as appealing to live in and work. The reduction in applicants is noticeable and concerning.
The long-term effects may be sweeping and significant for effectiveness in providing proper services and an appropriate workforce. Special assignments including traffic enforcement, bike patrols, victim advocates, and school resource officers could be impacted drastically if personnel shortages occur and citizen’s calls for service are delayed or go unanswered. While this may seem like a “worst-case-scenario”, who would have predicted that police vehicles would be burned, and station houses destroyed while police officers were told to stand down and allow rioting to progress?
These specialized assignments are those often requested by the community as offering proactive, positive policing, as opposed to the traditional 911 responding, reactive officers, sent to triage a crisis. Prior police recruitment originated from the former military, those who wanted to engage in public service, or from criminal justice programs at colleges and universities. Still others saw it as a worthy profession that was part of a family tradition. The altruistic ideology of community service was passed down through generations. Law enforcement parents are especially proud when their children graduate from the academy and pursue a profession that is honorable and civically minded.
However, there has been a paradigm shift from how many in society view the police. The immediate consequence is the lack of qualified candidates interested in the vocation. The long-term results may include a depletion of personnel skilled for specialized positions. This transition is multifaceted, but much has been devoted to anti-policing campaigns, defunding the police, and officers moving from city police departments to less violent suburban communities, or opting to leave the profession entirely, even if prematurely.
Protesting is not uncommon and current actions are reminiscent of the 1960s when people were questioning social and justice institutions. What is different is the level of acceptance in the destruction of property and the call for municipalities to defund the agency that protects and serves their citizens from chaos. It is further perpetuated in the mass media and social media sites who highlight such incidents of destruction. These communications come with misinformation and misrepresentation. What was clear was that a riot was redefined as a “peaceful protest” and lawbreakers were not held accountable for their destructive actions. All-encompassing comments against law enforcement became the standard and were categorized as bravery defined as protestors expressing rights fighting against injustice. Some saw it as a war against the police. The adverse actions of a few have been devoted to policing as a group. In nearly any other framework, this form of bias would never be acceptable. Not within politics, business settings, nor educational institutions.
Some of the largest gatherings of a community occur daily inside school systems. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were over 41 million students enrolled in the 130,930 public schools across the country. There are an additional 11 million students in private institutions. The role of the School Resource Officer should not be diminished. These dedicated officers are well accomplished and maintain a high level of safety and responsibility for children daily. Most go through an inter-agency vetting process with the purpose of finding the “best fit”. After the selection process, the certification process incorporates skills that are often not applied in traditional police work. SRO training focuses more on building life-long relationships and the proactive philosophy of problem-solving in the educational community. This training is policing through a different lens. The SRO takes on the role of law-related educator, mentor and analyst. Interestingly, these specialized services of the SRO can be manifested virtually, as was discovered during the COVID pandemic shutdown.
All this however, has been threatened. Building relationships and trust takes time AND personal investment. The knee-jerk response to defund police departments can have a trickle-down effect that impacts positive, proactive programs designed to provide a physical presence that deters criminal behavior, helps to resolve social problems often found in school settings, and assists faculty and administrators. Any reduction of these citizen benefits is incomprehensible and detrimental in the long term.