COVID-19 & Protests May Have Already 'Defunded The Police'

Clay Robinson | June 18, 2020
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As movements to defund the police continue to pop up across the country, police departments nationwide also face a different kind of challenge: financial strain and budget cuts from COVID-19.

The shutdowns following the breakout of the coronavirus have wreaked havoc on the world economy, reducing tax revenue and increasing unemployment. USA Today reports that the US GDP decreased by 4.8% between January and March, the largest drop in GDP since the Great Recession.

The reduction in tax revenue will cause a decrease in the budget of local and state economies, adding to the burden of police departments already struggling to meet financial obligations. This is especially true as local and state governments continue to tap into funding to respond to COVID-19 by increasing sanitation efforts and temporarily expanding social programs. 

However, local and state police departments must also respond to protests and riots occurring in cities and towns across the country, and that is an expensive issue to address. 

According to Axios, the cost to police and manage protests is only contributing to the financial strain of police departments. The California Highway Patrol spent $38 million responding to protests, but even small towns like Lake Havasu, Arizona spent $45 thousand dollars to police a single BLM protest. Nashville's police department spent an estimated $2.3 million just on police overtime since May 30. The Miami Police Department has spent more than $1.8 million on police overtime so far since May 29.

Now with the additional pressure from outside groups to “Defund the Police", police departments may see an even greater reduction.

H/T Axios
 

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