Jacobin Radio: Defunding the Police

Suzi talks to Philip V. McHarris about defunding and disbanding the police. Just two weeks ago the call to defund the police would have been thought of as hopelessly utopian. Now, after the public lynching of George Floyd on May 25, that demand is part of the national conversation. Mayor Garcetti in Los Angeles, along with mayors elsewhere, has said he'll redirect $250 million from the LAPD police to jobs, health, and other programs supporting communities of color. That would have been unthinkable before demonstrators marched to his house with one demand: "Defund the Police." The Minneapolis City Council has announced with a veto-proof majority that it will disband the police and start over. We get insights and innovative ideas for reform from McHarris, who has written widely on the questions of race, policing, and the criminal justice system.