Reform, yes. Defund the police? Absolutely not

The Washington Times' Beverly Smith-Brown (Lead Coordinator for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia for the Woodson Center’s Voices of Black Mothers United initiative, and President of Momma’s Safe Haven) makes clear that a strong police presence is important to public safety, particularly for minorities.

"Police brutality against unarmed Black people has rightly generated national outrage," writes Smith-Brown. "But criminal violence takes the lives of far more Black people than police brutality does."

She continues, "When a Black youth is killed by the hands of the police, it becomes front-page news. But when a Black youth is killed by the hands of a Black or brown person, it becomes just another senseless murder."

The defund the police movement “has made things worse by pushing law-enforcement away and making them more hesitant about protecting our neighborhoods. Police presence in our neighborhoods is smaller, and it’s making our streets more unsafe..."https://t.co/cMKDapSYfZ

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 3, 2021

Our nation's capitol is a good example of why a strong law enforcement presence is needed.

"Washington, DC, is not alone in facing a growing epidemic of criminal violence," Smith-Brown notes. "American cities saw a 33% increase in criminal homicides in 2020. This year, homicide rates in large cities are up nearly 25% percent for the beginning of 2021..."

"This is why we are speaking out against defunding the police," Smith-Brown declares. "This movement has made things worse by pushing law-enforcement away and making them more hesitant about protecting our neighborhoods. Police presence in our neighborhoods is smaller, and it’s making our streets more unsafe."

"Black people do not want the police to be pushed out and defunded," she observed.

Smith-Brown then notes an important poll number.

"In a national poll last year, 81% of Black people said they want more, not less, police presence in their communities."