/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f327a2233553fe6746034dd/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=3600&cropY1=0&cropY2=2025&w=1920&resize=1920,0&ssl=1 "Seattle Police Chief Announces Retirement After Signing Off On 0,000 Pay Cut And Funding Cuts")
TOPLINE
Seattle City Council on Monday approved a $3.5 million cut to the city’s police department for the rest of the year and signalled deeper cuts could be on the way, while some $17 million is being invested into community public safety following months of anti-racism demonstrations and calls to defund the police.
A defund Seattle Police Department (SPD) sign is pictured on a protester’s skateboard during a … [+]
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KEY FACTS
The cuts, which amount to less than 1% of the police department’s budget, was approved by a council vote of 7-1 as part of an overall rebalancing of the 2020 budget.
The $3.5 million is just a fraction of the 50% cut to the police department’s $409 million budget that protesters demanded.
But the new budget will see some 100 fewer police officers, while executive pay—including the chief’s $285,000 salary—will be reduced and the budget for SWAT teams, officers in school, harbor patrol, homeless outreach team and training and recruitment will also fall.
The cuts come after months of demonstrations escalated in recent weeks, renewed by protests in nearby Portland.
The cuts were described by council President Lorena Gonzalez as a “down payment” for future potential reductions to the police department’s budget.
Chief critic
The Downtown Seattle Association hit back at the cuts to the police department, saying in a letter signed by local businesses and neighbourhoods: “In defunding SPD, the council moved with speed and pettiness rather than with precision and thoughtfulness,” Reuters reports.
What to watch for
Monday’s approved cuts are expected to lead to an overall budget reduction of $76 million in the 2021 budget, with discussions around next year’s funding set to begin next month. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has previously pledged to consider such a cut.
Key background
Anti-racism protests and calls to defund the police have grown louder in the wake of George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, with advocates positing that funding should be redirected to services including mental health and housing. Critics claim that the move could lead to more crime but around 47% of Americans support cutting police budgets, according to an Axios/SurveyMonkey poll. Seattle City council’s decision to cut police funding followed a council probe that found 56% of emergency calls are for non-criminal activity, and only 3% of calls end in arrest. Overall, around a dozen cities across the U.S. have proposed cuts to police funding in the wake of sweeping protests, including New York and Los Angeles, while several departments have agreed to decrease officer numbers.
Crucial quote
Gonzalez said in a statement: “Reducing the budget of the Seattle Police Department is a response to the calls for advocating for racial justice and investments in BIPOC communities.
“Our inquest into SPD’s budget revealed 3% of 911 calls result in arrest but 56% of calls involve non-criminal activity. As a City, we cannot look at this data and assume this is a best practice and cost-efficient.”
Tangent
Minneapolis City Council was the first to announce in June that it would disband the city’s police department and invest in community safety programs, after Floyd was killed in its custody. City Council President Lisa Bender said at the time: “In Minneapolis and in cities across the United States it is clear that our existing system of policing and public safety is not keeping our communities safe.”
Further reading
Council President González: Summer Budget Rebalancing Effort ‘Charts a Course’ For Community-Informed Public Safety Interventions (Seattle City Council)
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best says she will retire amid protests, City Council cuts (Seattle Times)
At Least 11 Cities Are Defunding Their Police Departments (Forbes)
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