SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Utah residents took to the streets Saturday to rally against police funding.
According to organizers, Decarcerate Utah, the rally is in response to the budget proposed by Salt Lake Mayoress Erin Mendenhall for fiscal year 2021-22.
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The event began at around 2:00 p.m. on May 29, with participants opposed to the proposed 5% increase in the police agency’s budget.
The group gathered with members of the community on the west side of the city council building and introduced speakers from other grassroots organizers in the community who are also helping to defuse the police department.
“On Monday, May 3rd, the group’s organizers made demands to cut the department’s budget in half, cut its staff in half, and use the savings deducted from the police department’s budget to invest in underfunded services for the Salt Lake community needs like housing and mental health resources, ”Decarcerate Utah told ABC4.
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According to the organization, “Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Council agreed last summer to examine the police department’s budget through a zero-based budget exercise to create racial justice on the Police Commission, placing US $ 2.8 million Dollars in a holding account. Since then, despite countless unified public protests against the police, there have been no recommendations or measures to reduce funding. ”
“The police do not prevent, solve, or heal our community from harm. Rather than relying on them to answer calls, Decarcerate Utah believes in empowering the people who make up the fabric of the Salt Lake community by investing more resources in mental health providers, housing services, and social workers, as well as violence interventionists – even by Community members are empowered directly as neighbors, family and friends are more likely to be actual first responders. The group believes the city should invest resources to create non-police intervention programs in SLC to reduce damage to schools, neighborhoods, workplaces and homes, ”they add.
The SLC Council is considering calls to “defuse” the police department
The group’s bold request to cut the police department’s budget comes with the realization that in order to “reduce police violence, racial inequality and other forms of repression by the criminal justice system, we must dramatically change our city’s budget and lawyer funding for.” underfunded nonprofit services. “
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