police departments

The death of George Floyd and the ensuing “Defund the police” rallying cry led to ambitious proposals in cities to rethink the role that police departments serve in communities and how governments should allocate funds for the services police provide, especially those that are not directly related to law enforcement, such as dealing with homeless or mentally ill civilians.

The resulting changes, though, have been disappointing for some defunding proponents who want bolder steps toward reducing police budgets, and alarming for others who worry about the fallout of such cuts — and fear that it will ultimately diminish …