I’ve been thinking lately about the reason that the slogan “Defund the Police” became a punching bag and has largely been abandoned by all but committed activists. This despite the fact that police budgets are clearly bloated—and we can get better results with our tax dollars by investing them elsewhere. I suspect the problem with “defund” is that it presents a negative vision. So I’ve been thinking of how to present a positive vision of taking money and duties away from police and creating new institutions that will actually accomplish the goals of enforcing laws and encouraging public safety. Here’s my first effort:
