Police forces all over the nation receive unnecessary amounts of money that could be reallocated towards other public services. “Cop City,” approved by former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lancebottoms in Jan. 2023, will span over 85 acres and is yet another example of the overfunding provided to police forces. “The amount of resources put into the police force is unnecessary. ‘Cop City’ is just one example of the ridiculous amount of money poured into these facilities that could be going towards repairing the broken system that is so set on violence,” Viewpoints Editor Janie Ripps wrote. Illustration by Antonio Starks
Extreme funding to local, statewide and national police associations is not helping to repair the broken criminal justice system.
In June of 2020, more than 15 million protesters took to the streets across the country following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others.
They asked city governments to cut the police budgets and reallocate the millions, sometimes billions, that could be put towards education, public health and more.
In response, many major cities across the nation such as Minneapolis and Los Angeles pledged to cut the budgets and find more sustainable ways to repair the criminal justice system that vowed to protect yet was taking so many lives.
However, in Georgia, this issue remains as prevalent as ever.
However, in Georgia, this issue remains as prevalent as ever.
In September of 2021, Atlanta’s then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms approved the establishment of one of the largest police training facilities in the United States. The complex will include mini nightclubs, houses and apartments as part of a mock city.
An infographic compares the acreage of Atlanta’s proposed Police Training Facility (“Cop City”) to the facilities of the three largest police departments in the United States. The amount of land allotted for this project is too extreme and will do more harm than good. “This ridiculous 85 acre project will steal almost $30 million out of the pockets of Atlanta taxpayers,” Viewpoints Editor Janie Ripps wrote. “The reality of extreme funding involved with the police is far from reality for the U.S., yet governments still refuse to address the problem.” Infographic by Janie Ripps
This ridiculous 85 acre project will steal almost $30 million out of the pockets of Atlanta taxpayers.
While the reality of extreme funding involved with the police is far from reality for the U.S., governments still refuse to address the problem.
“Cop City” is just one example of the ridiculous amount of money spent on police that could be going towards repairing the broken system that is so set on violence.
While “Cop City” is certainly a more drastic example, the overspending on police departments stretches to Athens-Clarke County as well.
According to the ACC Unified Government Fiscal Year 2023 Budget in Brief, about $25 million is budgeted for ACC police departments, the most of any service under its category and an 8.5% increase from the FY22 budget.
“Allocating more money to police is not a helpful situation. It’s not going to solve the issues. It’s another example of treating the symptoms rather than the cause of a problem,” Clarke Central High School English department teacher Grace Crumpton said. “Look around Athens. What would happen if that money went to our unhoused population?”
Why is so much money going towards police forces and not towards community reforms that protesters, even Athens residents, have been begging for?
“If we want the officers to do better we’ve got to provide that training,” ACC Police Department Chief of Police Jerry Saulters said. “I don’t see anything at the level of what Atlanta is dealing with (in Athens), but they want to feel safe and they want a police force that they believe in.”
While there is some merit to this statement and additional money may be necessary for larger cities like Athens or Atlanta, the sheer amount spent on “Cop City” is too much.
Legislators are using money like a bandage. Governments keep throwing it on this wound in hopes of healing it instead of trying to get to the root of the infection.
To solve America’s criminal justice problem, lawmakers need to hear more community input on the issue while also budgeting more funds to restorative justice practices.
Adding more resources and building a “city” will not solve any issues, but rather add fuel to the fire that activists have worked to put out for decades.
