“More Police Funding Won’t Make Us Safer!” Community Advocates Respond to Reps. Gottheimer, Sherrill, and Kim

NEW JERSEY – Today, 25 New Jersey organizations and community leaders released a statement opposing a plan to send even more funding to police departments already funded at historically unprecedented levels. Police funding has consistently risen over time, with a negligible impact on crime rates.

“We have years of data, from small municipalities to huge counties, telling us what makes communities safer. Despite what police unions will tell you, it’s never increased police funding.” shared Matt Dragon, Co-Chair of Our Revolution Essex County, NJ.

Back on May 6th, Reps. Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Axne (IA-3) penned a letter asking Speaker Pelosi to put a bill up for a vote that would grant $250 million in federal funding to law enforcement. Reps. Kim (NJ-3) and Sherrill (NJ-11) were among the Democratic and Republican Reps joining them on this letter. The letter implied that police funding needs a boost from current levels, and failed to mention how heavily funded police departments already are.

“Increased funding for additional training hasn’t curtailed the combative behaviors of the bad apples in our larger police departments. So when our elected officials are calling to provide the same for smaller PDs we must speak up,” said Southern Burlington County NAACP President Marcus Sibley. “A crisis requires crisis intervention specialists, not police officers.”

This past Wednesday, Rep. Gottheimer seemingly tried to force this police funding bill through the House by blocking passage of an assault weapons ban- a measure that would make communities safer. He backed off later that day, following a public outcry.

Rep. Gottheimer has a history of obstructing his party’s legislative priorities- he spent months sabotaging President Biden’s agenda. With his help, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) eventually killed Build Back Better, even while most Americans supported it.

Voters, advocates, and progressive lawmakers nationwide are frustrated with the obstruction and lack of movement on police accountability legislation. This is especially true in New Jersey, where attempts to empower Civilian Complaint Review Boards and institute transparency requirements through state legislation have been met with heavy resistance from lawmakers and police departments. Federal efforts towards police accountability have also stalled, with bills like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act dying in the US Senate.

Cuqui Rivera, Chair of the Latino Action Network’s Criminal Justice Reform Committee, said “NJ has taken strong measures to chip away at these issues through policies, directives and the new police licensure bill signed into law on July 21st. We need to start to see bad apples actually held accountable, and not just given another training. We continue to require direct evaluation, assessment and measured behavior change of all law enforcement. More money for more training is not the answer. You cannot train away bad behavior.”

“We need to prioritize funding programs that do work: violence interruption and mental health programs, addiction treatment, and social services.” continued Dragon. “We need to engage and listen to communities, learn from them, and fund the solutions they identify as successful. Enough parroting of police propaganda- it’s time for our members of Congress to step up and commit to actually making communities safer.”

Yannick Wood, Director of the NJ Institute of Social Justice’s Criminal Justice Reform Program, summarized: “”Public safety is more than just policing; it is about giving communities the tools that they need to keep themselves safe. We urge New Jersey’s congressional members to fund programs that address the root causes of crime through mental health first responders, violence intervention programs and programs that create wealth within communities of color.”

“Reimagining public safety is a national priority for us and we will keep up the pressure on NJ Representatives to focus on restorative justice and quality of life improvements rather than failed over-policing,” said Anna-Marta Visky, national organizer with Our Revolution.

LIST OF SIGNATORIES:

Our Revolution New Jersey

Southern Burlington County NAACP

ACLU-NJ

Black Lives Matter NJ

Essex Rising

House Of Hearts Organization

Indivisible NJ 5th District

Ironbound Community Corporation

Latino Action Network

Make the Road NJ

March for Our Lives New Jersey

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

New Jersey Policy Perspective

New Jersey Working Families Alliance

Newark Communities for Accountable Policing

Perth Amboy Area NAACP

People’s Organization for Progress

Salvation and Social Justice

SOMA Justice

South Jersey Progressive Democrats

St. Thomas A.M.E. Zion Church

Union Chapel

Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

Unitarian Universalist Faith Action NJ

Voters of Tomorrow New Jersey

LINK TO FULL LETTER: https://ourrevolution.com/2022/07/29/more-police-funding-wont-make-us-safer-response-to-nj-reps/