If the goal is to reorganize the policing system then that’s what they should call it. Defunding the police does make it sound like we’re doing away with it entirely.
Personally I think demilitarizing the police and doing far more extensive training and personality testing is a more practical way to go. I read that in Sweden it takes a few years of training to become a police officer due to training and testing. Following a model like that with a focus on getting to know and understand the community you’re working with seems doable to me.
I’ve talked to a few people on Twitter about this and honestly i can’t see how social workers or restorative justice trained workers can fully take on the duties of police. Yes having people trained in mental health would be great! They need that. They need officers to be better communicators and trained in deescalation. However we also have to admit there are very dangerous situations that come up where an officer does need to use reasonable force on someone who is violently out of control and a danger to those around him.
So yes Im all for reform but we also need to be realistic in our approach