As civil unrest continues to cause violence on U.S. streets, a number of cities are responding to protests by cutting or redirecting funding to police departments, while others are opting to increase funding for law enforcement.
The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers have sparked a wave of outrage, with violent protests taking place on roadways and business locations across the country.
In the weeks since the protests began, “Defund the Police” has become a rallying cry for many demonstrators who want to take funding away from police departments to put it towards other community resources like mental health services and services for the homeless.
After a recent CDLLife poll indicated that truckers were reluctant to deliver to cities with “defunded” police departments, we rounded up a list of some of the cities that are making major changes to their police departments.
- Los Angeles, California. On June 16, the Los Angeles City Council voted to cut funding to the L.A. Police Department by $150 million — a small but significant portion of the department’s total $1.8 billion budget. The $150 million will reportedly be redirected towards community-building projects. The L.A. Police Department has also stopped paying officers overtime through June 30.
- Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minneapolis City Council says that they are moving forward with a plan to “dismantle” the Minneapolis Police Department, but the exact nature of the process is unclear and is expected to take several months or a year.
- New York City, New York. Mayor Bill De Blasio has promised to slash part of the New York Police Department’s $6 billion budget to fund social services, but he hasn’t released hard numbers on how much of a cut to expect ahead of a July 1 budget report.
- Salt Lake City, Utah. On June 16, the Salt Lake City Council approved a plan to cut funding for the Salt Lake City Police Department by $5.3 million. $2.5 million of the police budget will be redirected to a social worker program.
- Norman, Oklahoma. The Norman City Council approved a measure on June 16 to cut funding to their city police by $865,000.
- Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin agreed to a plan on June 11 to slash police department funding by $1 million and to reallocate another $1 million in police funding.
- Baltimore, Maryland. On June 15, the Baltimore City Council approved a plan to cut $22.4 million from the Baltimore Police Department.
- Portland, Oregon. On June 17, the Portland City Council passed a budget plan to cut $15 million from the Portland Police Department and to eliminate 84 jobs within the department.
While some cities are cutting and redirecting police department budgets, others are taking the opposite stance.
- Houston, Texas. On June 10, the Houston City Council unanimously voted to increase funding for the Houston Police Department by $20 million as part of their 2021 budget plan.
- San Diego, California. Earlier this month, the San Diego City Council approved a $27 million budget increase for the city’s police department.
- Durham, North Carolina. On June 15, the Durham City Council approved a 5% increase in funding to the Durham Police Department.
- Nashville, Tennessee. City officials approved a budget on June 16 that includes a $2.6 million increase for the Nashville Metro Police Department.
As more cities vote on their budgetary spending in the coming weeks to prepare for the start of the new fiscal year, the number of police departments in both categories is expected to increase.