Some cities have decided to decrease funding for police in municipal budgets and invest in communities and social services. Other jurisdictions have committed to reducing their police budget, but given the squeeze of shortfalls because of COVID-19, it is unclear whether they will reinvest resources

• Within two weeks of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, the city council announced that it would disband the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). On June 26, the council voted unanimously to begin the legislative process of amending the city’s charter to replace the MPD with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. The amendment states that the new agency “will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.” The amended charter could be on the ballot in November.
• In Oregon, the Portland City Council voted to cut the police department budget by 6 percent. The council is reducing $15 million in funding by targeting several Portland Policing Bureau (PPB) programs, as well as eliminating school resource officers and the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which has focused on gang policing. The council is also cutting the PPB’s Transit Division, a unit that provides law enforcement for the regional transportation agency TriMet, and is removing eight positions from the Special Emergency Response Team. The city has committed to reinvesting $5 million from the department budget in Portland Street Response, a nonpolice pilot agency providing services to people experiencing homelessness.
• The Philadelphia City Council agreed to a budget that shifts $14 million from the city’s police department to other agencies for crossing guards and public safety enforcement officers. (Mayor Jim Kenney’s initial budget plan called for a $19 million increase in police funding. The total cut is about 4 percent.)
• The Los Angeles City Council voted on a $150 million reduction in the city’s police budget, an 8 percent decrease. The cuts are geared toward decreasing spending on police overtime and reducing the size of the force to its lowest numbers since 2008. In April, Mayor Eric Garcetti had recommended a $7 million increase in spending for the LAPD, but recently supported the idea of cutting as much as $150 million from the department’s budget. Councilman Curren Price said two-thirds of the cost savings would be reinvested in social services for communities.
• In California’s Bay Area, the Berkeley City Council announced cuts of $9.2 million to its police department, a 12 percent reduction. Mayor Jesse Arreguín said, “The overwhelming message [from the public] is that we do need to defund the police and we need to reinvest money from our police department budget into other community priorities.” The city will freeze hiring for vacancies in the police department and will cut police overtime. Last week, the council passed a bill that will reduce the use of police responses for homelessness and behavioral health crises and for traffic stops. One council member proposed a measure to cut the police department’s “$72 million budget in half” and reallocate funds to community crisis responders and other city staff. The council will reconsider the budget on July 21.
• The Oakland City Council announced cuts of $14.6 million to its police budget, a reduction of 4.6 percent. The city will also freeze hiring as well as transfer positions such as crossing guards to other city agencies. The new budget calls for spending at least $1.35 million on Mobile Assistance Crisis Responders of Oakland, a new pilot to divert 911 calls for mental health emergencies to nonpolice responses.
• In nearby San Leandro, the city council cut $1.7 million in funding from the police department—a little over 4 percent—after a seven-hour meeting at which community members voiced concerns about law enforcement spending.
• The Baltimore City Council voted to cut $22 million, about 4 percent, from the police department’s budget, including $6.7 million in officer overtime and $1.8 million from the marine and mounted units.
• In Vermont, the Burlington City Council passed a resolution to slash the size of the police force by 30 percent. No new officers will be hired until the department is below its new cap of 74 officers, down from 105. The size of the department will be reduced “through attrition as officers leave or retire.”
• The city council in Newark, New Jersey, voted to divert $11.4 million—about 5 percent of the police budget—to replace one of its precincts with a new Office of Violence Prevention, a center that will provide social services. It will employ social workers who will respond to calls related to mental health, homelessness, or drug use. Mayor Ras Baraka said, “a social worker probably can deal with those issues a lot better than a person with a gun.” The city’s public safety director supports the plan and said that it won’t entail layoffs.
• In Connecticut, the New Haven City Council approved a $4 million cut to the police budget, reducing the size of the force by 11 percent.
• Nearby in Hartford, the city council reduced police funding by $1 million (3.5 percent) and plans to reallocate spending to public services such as after-school activities, more public works staff, and additional housing and health inspectors.
• In Massachusetts, the Northampton City Council decreased its police department’s budget by 10 percent. The mayor’s initial 2020–2021 fiscal budget had called for a 2.9 percent increase.
• In Oklahoma, the Norman City Council agreed to cut $865,000—about 3.6 percent—of its police budget and reallocate spending on community development programs and the creation of a position to track police overtime and outlays.