re: Defund the police?

The reality is, there are countries, (see England) who don’t even arm their police officers with weapons other than batons and flashlights.

They make up for that lack of physical control over a suspect with advanced monitoring equipment on every restaurant, store front, public space, etc. such that, even if cops aren’t even in the city, the evidence is still gathered and criminals are less likely to commit crimes (theoretically) because there’s a greater chance of being caught.

Problem is, as Benjamin Franklin said (paraphrasing), “those who give up their freedom for security deserve neither.”

Answer is you’re under surveillance constantly, so crime plunges. There aren’t weapons to fight your weapons, so less violent crime in this construct. Not saying I support it, but there are work arounds being used in different criminal justice systems around the world.