1/ This thread will be a VERY sobering analysis of some of the $billions (and $trillions, when pensions are included) that go solely to the #police--not including fire departments & other emergency management divisions of municipal budgets. @alex_zee @NigelJaquiss
3/ New York City spends more on policing (possibly $6B/year, in fact!) than it does on the Departments of Health, Homeless Services, Housing Preservation and Development, and Youth and Community Development *combined*.
4/ “We cannot police our way out of a health pandemic. Instead, this city and our elected officials need to double down on equitably investing in the social services,” said Lurie Daniel Favors, the executive director and general counsel of the Center for Law and Social Justice.
5/ That last quote was from this great article: ny.curbed.com/2020/6/5/21279… #DefundThePolice #DefundNYPD
6/ Over a 6-month span from 2014-15, the #NewYorkCity had a rare *reduction* in policing. What resulted: Civilian complaints of ALL major crimes DECREASED. washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…
7/ HALF of #Oakland's discretionary spending goes straight to the police, dwarfing the departments of human services, transportation and parks & recreation *combined*. How has that worked out for Oakland?!?
8/ In 1997, the U.S. had 242 police officers for every 100K residents; by 2016, it dropped to 217 due to budget cuts in police bureaus during that span. In those 19 years, FBI data show that the national violent crime rate *dropped* by 37%, from 611 per 100K inhabitants to 386.3.
9/ I'll NEVER forget that during the Great Recession, as millions became unemployed and police budgets were being slashed, predictions of apocalyptic crime waves, "compounded" by cities’ (fortunate) sudden inability to indiscriminately lock up Black people, NEVER materialized.
10/ *30%* of the #LosAngeles city budget goes solely to police. Yet, @MayorOfLA proposes to *increase* the @LAPDHQ budget by 7% while CUTTING the pay of over 24,000 City employees due to budget shortfalls caused by #COVID19.
11/ The annual police budget for #LosAngeles (NOT including fire or anything else related to “emergency”) is an absolutely ridiculous $3.14 billion!! That’s “Pi” $billion. We need a new meme for LA: “cut the police PIE!” @erik_griswold
12/ Possible correction: the LA annual police budget might “only” be $1.9B. But it’s still way more than the COMBINED budgets of the fire department, Office of Emergency Management, Transportation Department, Street Services Bureau, and the #Housing & Community Investment Agency.
13/ A truly insane 39% of Chicago's 2017 budget went solely to police. Clearly the city hasn’t gotten safer since. Yet, the department got 7% *more* money this year; its 2020 budget is nearly $2 billion!! Imagine all the GOOD things Chicago could be doing with $2 billion!!
14/ I love #Chicago Mayor #LoriLightfoot; I remain super proud of her election. But I’m completely disheartened that she is "not ever gonna cut back on public safety," which somehow equates a shockingly bloated police budget with making Chicago safer:
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2020…
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2020…
15/ Local police departments also receive **$200 million per year** (a stat I have never seen broken down this way elsewhere) from the feds to keep them outfitted in military gear. @sarahforpdx
16/ As writer @Caissie St. Onge says, "It’s kinda wild seeing pics of so many police officers all over the USA wearing so much paramilitary gear they look like Robocops while some doctors in our hospitals are still wearing garbage bags for PPE." gq.com/story/cops-cos…
end/ #California police retire at age 50, after which they’re paid 3% of their highest-earning year for each year worked. For life. This is quite common. Imagine if teachers or nurses got this kind of benefit. The $trillions we give to police from retirement alone is staggering.
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