Amid continued concerns about policing tactics and violent crime, tensions are rising in some communities over efforts to slash police spending, the potential dangers of defunding law enforcement, and the appetite of the public and politicians for public safety reform.
After Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced last week he would establish a task force to develop a five-year budget reduction plan for the city’s police department, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lashed out, calling the move “crazy” and “reckless.”
“I just have a strong difference of opinion when we have violent crime out of control and more than 350 murders,” Hogan told WBAL Radio.
“We are going to still have a police department, and what we’re talking about is putting a group of people together to see how we can responsibly reimagine our city budget so that the burden is not solely on police,” Scott said at a news conference Thursday.
In states like Texas and Georgia, Republican governors and legislators have gone further, backing bills that would penalize jurisdictions that reduce police funding. Legislation under consideration in Texas would withhold state tax revenue from municipalities that defund their police departments.
A real war of words has developed between Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.https://t.co/05TdlnOS2V
— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) April 9, 2021
Please defund the Baltimore police Those things that inhabit that rat hole don’t deserve to live in safe neighborhoods.
This is the same CITY that ADOLPH HOGAN is moving 3000 State employees to.
What a joke HOGAN. Where is employee safety?