What is a better word we can use than "defund" when it comes to the police?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Because obviously that's being misconstrued into thinking that there's a widespread movement on the left to abolish all public law enforcement. And that's obviously not what's being argued here. The idea of just doing away with all police would be patently absurd, because that would mean we'd see the role of law enforcement go to people along the lines of George Zimmerman, and that would be making an already very bad situation exponentially worse.

But "defund" has been spun to mean "abolish" and rather than having to go on the defensive and having to argue that's not what we mean, it's better just to advocate for a better term.

Not sure what word is best but was hoping for some ideas that would best convey an approach towards law enforcement reform, and how to re-envision law enforcement so that it doesn't have such an adverse impact on minorities and a tendency towards overly aggressive behavior by officers.

I thought "re-boot", as in how some movie franchises are re-envisioned with different actors or plotlines...but the "boot" part seems to invoke military boots, so maybe not.

There's simply "reform", which could actually be used rather literally...as in police departments that have been plagued with problems can be shut down but immediately re-formed under new charters that better define their roles in the public.

"Demilitarize"? "Rework"? "Rebuild"? "Re-imagine"?

Any ideas?

[Shell_Seas]

1. Demilitarize

[Greybnk48]

46. Spot on! The police do NOT need to be outfitted like Robocop. n/t

[Bettie]

50. That was mine

though, the problem goes deeper than the militarization.

That is a symptom of a larger problem.

[OregonBlue]

67. Mine too

[highplainsdem]

2. Restructure.

[lagomorph777]

41. +1

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. Recalibration? Modernization? I also like demilitarization.

[empedocles]

4. 'Defund' is really bad word. trump and fox news could not make this up.

[Iliyah]

5. RWers . ...

are pushing this and directed at Democrats and VP Biden. This will backfire as well.

[GemDigger]

6. Revamp.

[gulliver]

7. Delouse, disinfect, decontaminate, un-Republicanize...

[lagomorph777]

42. DeBathification.

[maxsolomon]

61. I think it was the Baath Party, but yes!

Lost on everyone except the aging 10% who opposed the War in Iraq.

[lagomorph777]

62. You're correct. Either way, a lot of soap and water will be needed.

[maxsolomon]

64. Always thought that should have been spelled Ba'ath.

But I know jack about Arabic pronunciation.

[RhodeIslandOne]

8. Restructure and reform

Defund is a aggressively right-wing term, and it's funny how they now recognize it as such when they've used it all the time to talk about welfare, schools, meal programs, etc.

[LeftInTX]

9. I got a text message last week asking me to "defund police"

I was put off and ignored it, because I thought it meant they were going to get rid or abolish police.

I like "restructure"

[marble falls]

10. Review financially

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. Civilize? Tame? nt

[Solly Mack]

12. Reform. Repurpose. Restructure. The three Rs for

Community Recovery.

[maxrandb]

13. Take Back!

Keep it simple.

They work for US!

They protect and serve US!

We pay their salaries!

I would say; "Make Police Great Again"

That would torque Donnie Shit for Brains

[Archetypist]

14. police the police

[Phoenix61]

15. Focus on where the money is going.

Increased funding for evidenced based crime prevention services. Utilization of non-law enforcement services to respond to mental health emergencies. etc

[Gidney N Cloyd]

16. I like "reform."

I think it describes the job ahead as well as "restructure" does while not losing focus on the systemic issues that got us to this point.

[Hugin]

17. Refocus.

Restructure.
Revise.

De-thug.

Actually, in talking with several LEOs recently, who were being quite frank. Adding more money and benefits to the rank-and-file's pay to attract a more diverse and educated pool of applicants is an important component of a reform.

The same should be done for those who prepare our food and educate our children.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Restructure and reform, and call it something besides "the police department."

[SheltieLover]

20. I agree

Demilitarize, restructure & reform.

And rename the function.

[Act_of_Reparation]

19. NWA did this already.

I believe the word they used was "fuck".

[Blasphemer]

34. LOL...

I think it's important to pick a new messaging but this gave me a good laugh for the morning.

[theophilus]

21. Improve? Strengthen? Superfy? Superduperfy? Canonize?

In other words say something like Trump would say. The REpugs are great at naming something and doing the exact opposite. Let's play that game. Why not?

[Turbineguy]

22. And for trump supporters:

"Re-brand"

[soothsayer]

23. Reform. Retrain. Maybe reimagine.

[HAB911]

24. Demilitarize. Take the suggestions and run a poll!

[Hortensis]

25. Redefine police duties? Refocus police functions "to better serve the people"?

Frankly, my impression is that most departments need more funding. And of course "defunding" is a very unfortunate word for shifting some funding.

Officers should not be patrolling alone. Selection, training and pay (as part of raising standards) should be greatly improved. Etc. I'm appalled that families of injured and dead officers could need charitable donations.

And above all, we should have an expanded standard for the idea of equal protection under the law that would include reasonably equal standards for acceptable crime rates. Crime rates should never be allowed to vary very substantially between neighborhoods.

The consequences of inadequate policing should always be felt by all of those with the electoral and political influence to decide on funding. Where affluent neighborhoods would try to get around that by hiring private police, budget should automatically be shifted to other areas accordingly -- to encourage the middle classes to vote for the taxation needed to provide good municipal policing to all.

[backscatter712]

26. "Police" as in "Police the Police!"

Makes a great bumper sticker.

And it turns law and order on itself, instead of using a frame that will get us crucified on the right-wing media Wurlitzer.

[Demsrule86]

27. Don't give the GOP talking points. Funding is at the state level...and it needs to remain there.

People walking around saying they want to abolish police sound extreme...and it is not helpful for our coming elections. We need to have national regulations and stop the militarization of the police...have national registry...that sort of thing. But funding is up to the states. Don't help Trump become the law and order president...as for a better 'word'...just don't say it period.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. Review and reform. n/t

[LisaL]

29. I like "reform."

[bigtree]

30. disband

...replace.

On August 2, 2012, the city of Camden and Camden County announced that the department would be disbanded in favor of a new county police department, the Camden County Police Department. The new department took over for the Camden Police Department on May 1, 2013.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Police_Department_(New_Jersey)

How Camden, New Jersey, Reformed Its Police Department
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-04/how-camden-new-jersey-reformed-its-police-department

[earthside]

31. Repurpose

Repurpose:Repolice

[Baclava]

32. Renovate, reconstruct, I like R words too

[gibraltar72]

33. All replies are good I'll add reconfigure.

[farmbo]

35. "Police Union Reform"

As far as I can tell, the "defund" movement is largely geared toward dis-empowering the all powerful Police Unions.
Police unions are a severe reactionary force impeding police reform.

[stillcool]

36. Fix what's broken.

[Efilroft Sul]

37. Police accountability.

If you're against police accountability, you're for police brutality. The accountability aspect also applies to the budgets of police departments.

[theaocp]

38. Audit n/t

[LiberalFighter]

39. Re-align functions.

Health related such as rape goes to the county health board for example.
Road or street assistance goes to a department in the Mayor's office.
Truancy goes to the school superintendent's office.

[stopdiggin]

40. I cringed the first time I heard that

after doing a head swivel and a "whaaaa .. musta' missed somethin' .."
Thing is .. I think you (and I) are being too generous.
Nope .. there really are people out there (in our camp) that really are just this dim.

I'm all for listening to new ideas .. but first you gotta' have ideas. N' not just talkin' trash.

[Corgigal]

43. Nationalize.

It would remove the unions, take away jobs of thousand of higher ups.

This is the word cops fear. Know a cop? Ask them about this?

[WhiteTara]

44. Rearrange or Restructure.

[Corgigal]

45. Nationalize

Takes away the union, thousands of corrupt upper management.

Try this term on a cop, if you know one. You’ll see.

[RobinA]

47. Reform

If it were me I'd want to reform the police. I wouldn't use the term "demilitarize," but that would be part of my plan. That started with 9/11 and got out of control. I know someone in law enforcement and his complaint back then was that they pay to buy him a robot bomb defuser but he couldn't get flashlights.

[Initech]

48. I like "Demilitarize".

[Basic LA]

49. Dismantle !

Dismantle & start over.

[obamanut2012]

51. I actually really like "reboot"

[hwmnbn]

52. How about Refund the Police...

It vague enough to warrant further discussion, which is what we want.

"De-fund the police" is a political disaster, IMO

[PunkinPi]

53. Demilitarize, Reimagine, Reform. nt

[aidbo]

54. Defund is already the compromise word, compromised from abolish

[rusty fender]

55. Fuck the police!

An not in a good way

[RichardRay]

56. Reformat? Maybe reinitialize?

Probably too techie, but it’s how I think about it.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

57. The general public will never stand for PDs being abolished or defunded because....

having a police presence is ingrained into the urban comfort zone.

As radical as it may seem, I'm afraid many should simply be replaced. Having known numerous cops, the reason I feel that way is because especially post-9/11, many have been brainwashed with militancy beyond rehabilitation and cities will have to somehow put them out to pasture. As a matter of practicality, I hope I'm at least partially wrong about that.

A new generation of police needs to be constructed - although an entirely new set of training methods, philosophy, materials and procedures will need to be built first to train them. Everything needs to be done with substantial participation of the general public.

We will need to be very patient with this process because it will take many years although city leader's feet will have to be kept in the fire of public observation.

This effort will require a lot of funding and Republicans (local, state, federal) will fight it tooth and nail......

[Doremus]

58. Heard Kamala Harris this morning speak to this.

She said "defund" refers to taking some of the funds currently used for policing and use it instead for homelessness, psychiatric services, substance abuse rehab, etc.

The idea is to stop crime at its roots rather than attack it after the fact.

Simultaneous to the defunding would be reform efforts like retraining, rooting out thugs, etc.

As usual the DU critics throw shade before they even understand what's proposed.

[gulliver]

65. She's going to be a good Veep!

[greenjar_01]

59. Unfuck the Police

[budkin]

60. Eliminate?

Seriously.

[Tactical Peek]

63. Rightsize.

Rightsize the police.

Even the dark side could find it appealing looked at that way.

[malaise]

66. Redirect the funds n/t

[onethatcares]

68. demilitarize

somewhere the police got off track and began believing that we were all gun toting criminals due to the easy access to firearms.

The phrase, "when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" comes to mind.