Opinion: We Cannot Defund the Police

On  Sept. 12, a gunman ambushed two police officers on patrol duty in Los Angeles. One officer was a mother in her early 30s while the other was a young man in his mid-20s. Upon arriving at the hospital where the two would receive treatment, protesters attempted to block their entry while chanting, “We hope they die” over and over again.

This resentment toward the police is a trend that has been brewing in America for years and has picked up serious momentum in 2020. Events like the death of George Floyd and the arrest of Jacob Blake have been the cause of riots and destruction. In Kenosha, Wisconsin alone rioters have caused almost $2 million in property damage, according to the National Review. The purpose of all the looting and chaos that these protestors are causing is to make enough noise to defund and ultimately remove the country’s police force.

The truth is that no matter how many buildings are destroyed and no matter how many police officers lose their jobs, defunding the police is not the answer.

Minneapolis, Minnesota has already tried it, and the results have been disastrous. Two months ago, the city made the decision to defund its police force, and now, crime rates in the city have increased drastically. Already, 121 more people have been shot in the city this year compared to last year at the same time. Deaths in Minneapolis have also gone up, as the number of residents who have been killed are already higher than the amount of people killed last year.

What then should our country do to put a stop to crime? The answer is to simply let the police do their job. Because if they cannot, what has happened to cities like Kenosha, Minneapolis and others will continue to happen across America.

What has been happening to our country over these last few months has been the opposite of what America was intended to be. America was created to be a country of order and peace, but since late May the U.S. has seen anarchy and destruction. There needs to be a group that contains and minimize these riots, and that group is the police. 

The police keep the country safe and should be respected and appreciated for doing so. Without them, the country will continue to see its self-destruction continue, and it is important that the police know that they are needed and that people want them to do their job. If they do not, then they may not do their job as best as they can.

Romans 3:23 reads that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As such, no matter how hard the world tries to reduce crime, the problem of sin will never go away until Jesus returns. While crime will never disappear completely, the amount of crime can still be reduced, and the only way for that to happen is to keep our police force.

America was a country built on law and order, not chaos. But the country has seen unrelenting lawlessness these past few months, which is why our country needs the police to enforce those laws. Considering that most Americans do not want the police force disbanded, the question of defunding the police should be easy to answer: No.

Asher Notheis is an Opinion Writer. Follow him on Twitter at @AsherNotheis.