Would abolishing the police bring us more peace?
What will the aftermath be after disbanding or abolishing the police in our country? What will be the collateral damage?
You see, my friend, when we fail to realize the actual problem and aggressively, without lawful consent, use extreme and illegitimate methods to correct what we think is the problem, all we are really breeding is chaos and anarchy.
So, here are three points of reason I’d like to share with you in this whole discussion of whether or not it’s a good idea to defund or abolish the police.
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First, we need to stop falsely portraying police presence as a police state.
I may agree in demilitarizing law enforcement and reforming many engineered tactics being used on civilians, but that doesn’t lead me to conclude we are better off defunding public safety.
Even amid protests and riots, the vast majority of the police are present to deescalate the situations that are unfolding in the streets. They are not there to inflict harm and strip people of their constitutional rights. Most of the violence is coming from a small percentage of protesters, not from the police officers.
Second, we need to reform our law enforcement, not conform to an ideology of lawlessness and disorder.
The rush to judgment by many of our legislatures to defund the police in America is lacking something pretty significant…common sense.
Think about it. How is it possible to get better policing by defunding policing?
You can’t reduce crime by defunding public safety. Public safety exists to keep the peace, and if necessary, to enforce the law.
Who, I ask, will replace the police? The people rioting in the streets? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
If this is genuinely about police brutality — then let’s stick to the officers who are guilty of abusing their power. Condemning and seeking to punish the entire police force is not retribution.
The more reasonable and sensible course of action is to defund the police unions, afford better yearly training for officers, and develop better citywide support and assistance on social matters with non-profits and other agencies.
Also, I believe police chiefs need more control over the hiring and firing of police officers, and when an officer crosses the line — arbitration should not be so lenient as it currently stands. This will drastically remove the bad apples in police departments while improving public safety in our communities.
Third, we cannot afford the oppression in our country to lead to the suppression of the truth.
Much of what the protesters are advocating aren’t solutions to further enhance morality and civility in our communities, and it certainly does not bring about racial unity. The civil unrest of protesters continues to spiral out of control and is leading to more civil disorder.
The truth is, and I realize many will not like hearing this, but the communities that are suffering the most from the rioting, looting, and setting buildings on fire is the black communities.
How is damaging and defacing property helping the black community? How’s that justice for Floyd and those oppressed?
In the end, these riots will have an economically negative effect on black families and communities, leaving them in more unsatisfactory conditions than before.
That is not justice.
If we take an honest and hard look at the rioters, you will discover their allegiance is to vengeance, not justice — and that is something they have no right to enforce.
We are warned in Proverbs 24:29 not to say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
Here’s the bottom line: groups who use victimhood as vindication to act in violence and incite racism are not worthy of following or taking a knee for.
I pray you will consider these three points of reason as we pray for repentance and peace in America.
Jason Jimenez is president of Stand Strong Ministries, a faculty member at Summit Ministries, and a best-selling author who specializes in apologetics and biblical worldview training. Check out www.standstrongministries.org.
