This is like climate change scientist saying there is in fact climate change, but me saying, "Of course they're going to say that or else they wouldn't get the funding". The quotes above are from those trying to hire the cops, but we shouldn't listen to why they say they're having a hard time filling the openings? There are thousands of videos of police officers being harassed for not doing a damn thing besides being a police officer. Certain communities have always had a rocky relationship with law enforcement and rightfully so, yet even marginalized communities are asking for MORE police. Even the communities hardest hit by crime understand that law enforcement is still the #1 way to deter criminals from committing crimes.phuqueue wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 10:26 pm It’s not about “admitting.” I think it would be great if the left had a fraction of the power you attribute to it. If the police were willfully defunding themselves because they had been cowed by the defund movement, that would be super cool. Not as cool as a deliberate, democratically-controlled defunding with a plan to redistribute the funds appropriately, but still pretty cool. But all of these cops can’t stop going on national news to whine about how defund has decimated their ranks precisely because it’s not true. Defund isn’t popular enough to have that kind of power, but playing up the same staffing shortages hitting every other government agency and the private sector as being defund’s fault is an easy (and successful) strategy for getting more money specifically because police still actually enjoy broad support from a majority of the country. Unfortunately I just don’t think there is anything here for me to “admit,” and if there is, the proof is not statements from a bunch of cops.
It's not only the "defund" movement that went around, which honestly wasn't all bad in the basic form. We should always be thinking of how to better serve the community if that means shifting dollars around to be more effective, so be it. However, it was just a movement, not a plan. Instead, it was just additive to the avalanche of negative attitudes towards all police across this country. And yes, while they still enjoy support by the majority of the population, it's like most other social issues where the vocal minority get all the attention and seem to impact news feeds and weak minded group-think types the most.
You have zero proof that the defund/aniti-police movement isn't a contributing factor in hiring shortages. ZERO.