Defund the police and fund social programs

Hello,

I am a student of colour that studies in one of Ottawa’s post-secondary institutions. I am calling to defund the police, as it is unsettling that the OPS has five times the budget of other public services. As a student, I know firsthand that many distress and safety problems in young and minority communities can me resolved without violence and without the police.

Along these lines, many of Ottawa’s social problems, like homelessness, poverty, and addiction are not being helped my increased policing. This is why I think it would be better for police budgets to be redirected to social programs that have been proven to help these vulnerable populations. As we have seen, even accountability measures like body cams do not reduce the rates of police violence.

Finally, as a person of colour, I feel that is it important to acknowledge the racist system with which police forces were necessitated. With it’s history in suppression of Indigenous and black social groups, it is imperative that we work to dismantle this system. Thank you.