DEFUND

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Accountability and transparency by government, individuals and private organizations are the focus of a group advocating for a reduction in funding for the Grand Rapids Police Department. The Defund the GRPD organization is hosting a public discussion about accountability on Thursday, Feb. 25. The $9 million funding cut would lower the the police department’s share of general fund spending from 38.6 percent to 32 percent. The Grand Rapids City Charter requires police operations account for at least 32 percent of the annual city general fund, and changing the charter requires a vote of city residents. Members also worked with the Grand Rapids Area Tenants Union and Justice for Black Lives on the recently released Worst of Grand Rapids Awards.

So now you must be wondering what the U.S. would look like without its traditional policing system: Heres what some researchers and advocates are proposing as an alternative. Community-led safety initiativesAdvocates believe that a new approach to public safety is necessary to ensure the safety of all American lives -- especially Black Americans who are disproportionately arrested, sentenced and killed by police around the country. There has been significant research conducted on potential community-based public safety systems as alternatives to traditional policing for years. It is important not to confuse a community-led public safety initiative with community-oriented policing, as these two practices are actually quite different. The reimagined public safety system is designed to exist apart from the traditional policing system, while community-oriented policing is a practice that works in tandem with traditional policing.

DETROIT Authorities in Metro Detroit are skeptical of the Minneapolis City Council plan to disband the citys police department. Certainly they have probably the right to opt out of having a police department, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said. Right now, theres a call from protesters to defund the Detroit Police Department. People in the city of Detroit want their police department, Detroit police Chief James Craig said. What is the plan?Craig said he feels there will be reform or restructuring of police departments in Minneapolis and across the country.

DETROIT A former Detroit police chief who has worked closely with the Minneapolis Police Department for years said that department has some serious problems." Ike McKinnon, a well-known former Detroit police chief, has had a unique look inside the Minneapolis Police Department for a couple of years as a consultant. The police department has some serious problems," McKinnon said. There are serious problems with the minority community, McKinnon said. People dont understand there are serious problems, McKinnon said.