It's dumb and distressing to hear about anyone wanting to defund the police. It's even more unfortunate that anyone would think it's a good idea in St. Louis, Missouri, which has seen its highest murder rate in 50 years, despite population decreases. Yet that's exactly what Mayor Tishaura Jones' budget proposal will do, and why state Republican lawmakers are calling on Gov. Mike Parson (R-MO) to bring back the legislature for a special session.
Not only does St. Louis have the highest murder rate in the country, it would in the world if it were its own country, as Missouri's attorney general, Eric Schmitt wrote in his opinion piece for The Washington Examiner:
If the city of St. Louis were a country, we would have the highest homicide rate per capita of any other country in the world. A review of government homicide data reveals that the city of St. Louis has a higher murder rate than Honduras, El Salvador, South Africa, Venezuela, and Mexico. In fact, homicides in the city of St. Louis are 17 times greater per capita than those of the United States as a whole.
As Michael Ruiz reported for Fox News:
A proposed city budget for next year, which Jones announced in April, would cut $4 million from the police department and reallocate the funds to an affordable housing fund, victim support services, the city’s Department of Health and Human Services and Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, which investigates housing, equal employment and public accommodation complaints.
It also calls for the city to eliminate nearly 100 vacant police positions. No current officers would be laid off.
Local news outlets reported on Tuesday and Wednesday about calls from Republican lawmakers for a special legislative session. On Wednesday, State Rep. Nick Schroer issued that call during a press conference.
Mayor Jones released a statement, in which she called Rep. Schroer out by name:
“St. Louis voters elected me to put the public back in public safety, and I'm willing to work with elected leaders who are ready to have hard conversations about the deep-rooted problems we face. But the proposed special session would be government overreach and a waste of taxpayer dollars at a time when all of us can least afford it."
“Rep. Schroer is chasing clout while I'm chasing solutions. I am extending an open invitation to Rep. Schroer and his colleagues to visit North St. Louis and see firsthand why my administration is investing directly into neighborhoods to address the root causes of crime.”
Perhaps the biggest proponent of this scheme to "defund the police" is the city's Democratic Congresswoman, Rep. Cori Bush, who is one of the newest members of the squad.
We're going to defund the police and refund our social services.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) October 19, 2020
Don’t like this idea? Well, we don’t like dead Black & Brown bodies & broken families at the hands of those sworn to protect us.
The police have failed at fixing themselves—so we're going to do it.
With all due respect, Mr. President—let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor. We’re losing our loved ones to police violence.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) December 2, 2020
It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police. https://t.co/Wsxp1Y1bBi
Defunding the police isn’t radical, it’s real. https://t.co/wUcTjxqS3w
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 28, 2021
"'We need to defund the police and make sure that money goes back into the communities that need it,' said Cori Bush, a progressive candidate running for Missouri's 1st District House seat, in a statement."#DefundThePolice #MO01 #STLhttps://t.co/UkK3S8Ahxc
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) June 4, 2020
Our communities wouldn’t have needed to spark a national movement to save Black lives if America weren’t racist AF.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) May 2, 2021
She also released a statement from her congressional office praising Mayor Jones' budget proposal:
“For decades, our city funneled more and more money into our police department under the guise of public safety, while massively underinvesting in the resources that will truly keep our communities safe,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush. “Previous administrations spent more per capita on policing than all comparable cities, building a police force that is larger than that of any city comparable to St. Louis. But even as more and more money has gone into policing, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department continues to be the deadliest police force in the nation, year after year — all while violence in our communities continues to skyrocket.
“The people have demanded a new approach to community safety — and from the Mayor’s office to the Halls of Congress, we were elected to deliver one. We have a mandate to fully fund our social services. To invest in our communities, not criminalize them. To end police violence. To provide alternatives to police like unarmed mental health professionals or social workers to respond to crisis calls. That is what organizers in our communities have fought for, that is what St. Louis has demanded, and that is what we, as elected officials, promised St. Louis. I’m incredibly proud to see Mayor Tishaura Jones deliver on this promise from City Hall — and know that she has my full support as I continue to work towards this goal from the U.S. Capitol.
“Today’s decision to defund the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is historic. It marks a new future for our city. We are building a St. Louis where elected officials lead in partnership with activists, organizers, and our communities. We are building a St. Louis where our schools are funded, and our unhoused neighbors can be sheltered. We are building a St. Louis where our streets are safe and our youth can grow and prosper — where we can not just survive St. Louis, but thrive. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with Mayor Tishaura Jones — and I commend her for her incredible leadership with today’s decision.”
But those who may disagree with her aren't as driven by "clout" as Mayor Jones may claim. Schmitt isn't naive in that there are reforms worth making, unlike those who are hellbent on defunding the police:
There is no doubt we can do more to provide more educational and job opportunities and foster an environment in which community and family are the center, not greed, anger, and addiction. We should work together to find innovative solutions to these issues so that we are lifting up our communities and shaping a better future for our children and generations to come.
However, there are also very real crimes that we rely on our law enforcement to solve day in and day out. We rely on our law enforcement to keep our communities safe from those intent on doing harm to others, protect our children from violence, shield victims of domestic violence, and seek justice for those who have fallen victim to violence.
Despite the chatter among Republican lawmakers that they were going to call on the governor to bring the legislature back for a special session, Gov. Parson's office on Tuesday said no decision had been made, according to local news outlets.