Why is it that for the past 40 years every other public service has been expected to do more with less but for some reason the chequebook is always open for police?
I honestly don't know much about police budgets. However, I do know that when I emailed my city counselors after George Floyd happened and requested they equip police with bodycams they responded by saying there's a committee studying it, which was probably code for "nah".
Giving that money to mental health supports, housing, addiction treatment and recovery etc would.
I'm not against any of this. But I also know police should be adequately funded because cities are filled with dirtbags, so paying for these supports by taking money from police budgets is a pretty blanket recommendation with no nuance. If a dept is overfunded and buying tanks & overpaying people ok sure. I think it's ok to acknowledge the role of policing is vital but also acknowledge their failures & demand change/accountability.
This is absurd. These problems aren'r restricted to the west coast, not are they unique to "liberal" cities. If you want to pint the finger, point it at conservative austerity policies.
I was talking about this:
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/sick-of-break-ins-and-assaults-bcers-vote-for-tough-on-crime-mayors