Cities and towns across the country are supporting the police by increasing spending for law enforcement next year, despite a national drive from the Left to “defund” the police.
In both small and large cities and red states and blue, some police departments are getting more money in 2021, even as budgets take a hit amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas
Forth Worth, on Tuesday, unveiled a fiscal 2021 budget that increases public safety spending and expands the police department’s mental health crisis intervention team. Dallas also has boosted its proposed police funding to $542 million. Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said her focus is countering and responding to violent crime, but she supports “reimagining public safety.”
Houston, Texas
City officials in June passed a budget to give police an extra $20 million next year, bringing the department’s bank account to $964 million.
San Antonio, Texas
City Council members last week proposed $487 million for policing, up $8 million from 2020. The city’s independent mayor, Ron Nirenberg, told attendees at a hearing that it would “be a disservice to the change” many are seeking in the criminal justice system to just “check a box” and promised to work toward reform in other ways.
Missoula, Montana
Democratic Mayor John Engen proposed a 3.4% increase for the city’s police budget, which would bring it to $19 million. The new money includes $100,000 to launch a program focused on bias and racism in policing.
Charlotte, North Carolina
The Queen City this summer approved a $5 million hike that gives police $290 million in fiscal year 2021, but it comes with a ban on the purchase of chemical agents such as tear gas. The City Council is also creating a committee to determine how the police department spends its funding.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines hiked law enforcement funding by $2.7 million for a total of $75.7 million next year. The City Council passed an ordinance requiring police officers who witness racial profiling, now a banned practice, to report it to supervisors.
Honolulu, Hawaii
The capital city of the Hawaiian islands is throwing $10 million more in funding to public safety than last year’s $310 million. The money will pay for body cameras for officers and new hires. A majority of residents on Oahu had said funding should remain the same as last year.
Manchester, New Hampshire
The coastal New Hampshire town is boosting police spending by $2 million, including for hiring 10 new community police officers. The funding comes after public outcry over racist comments that two aldermen made on social media.
Washington, D.C.
Attempted funding: Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed increasing the Metropolitan Police Department’s funding by 3.3% for a total of $580 million in 2021. The City Council denied her request and ended up cutting the budget $15 million last month.
