# What does defunding the police mean in practice?

*Defunding the police and a polarised America*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/s/11/
- Date: 2020-07-10 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (38:47–41:19)
- Status: a view quoted in order to be discussed, not a position held
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCe73zqCi_I&t=2327s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/

**Topics:** Current events commentary; Extremism, crime and justice

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest describes police in his area withdrawing after criticism and a country too polarised for real conversation.

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth asks whether defunding the police means replacing corrupt officers with better trained ones, and says he had assumed it meant a reshuffle. The guest says the country is in a phase of anarchy in between, that Republicans and Democrats hold opposite opinions with no real conversation, and gives a real-life case in which he and others heard a child crying for help in a house where a man was beating his wife, called the police, and waited 28 minutes for officers who did nothing. The guest says the police attitude is now that if people do not like them they will not act, and that Democrats and Republicans hate each other and are divided within their own parties.

## Sources and names cited

- Shaykh Omar Baloch

## Transcript (machine tier, 38:47–41:19)

[38:09] it's not sometimes that new ideas prevail it's more that people with the old ideas just die they kind of replaced with people that have fresh ideas that's how new kind of thoughts prevail ultimately and I feel that the majority of like let's say this country I'm assuming America is is is now younger people and I do have her oh is it okay okay so we're different in that sense yeah and and see what is happening in America is that the so though so cops killed so just just consider this right

[38:46] so cops killed a black person yeah and in response to that they're defunding the cops they're literally taking away the money of the cops wait are they are they defunding or they just saying we're gonna kind of replace corrupt cops with better cops is that what they say this is the phase in between is a phase of anarchy right before you come up with this whole list of new cops that are actually properly trained and and and see the thing is not any solution is gonna be perfect right no matter how you push it or pull it but the the the

[39:23] dialectic has become such that it's one like Republicans have one opinion Democrats have another opinion and the it's just chaos because there's no conversations because you know I would have because I would have assumed when they said this whole talk of defunding the police I didn't assume it to mean let's defund the police I assumed it to mean like let's have a shuffle you can understand on the ground what's happening right there is a husband beating his wife okay me and quite a scenario

[40:01] me and one brother we go to this house we can hear inside the house a child crying for help saying help us this is a real-life scenario okay let's see take it away she'll I had about maybe 15 brothers with me that day we called the cops you know how long they took 28 minutes to come and they did nothing they didn't go inside the house and the attitude of the cops has now become oh if you don't like us well then fine we won't do anything for you kill each other yes that is not in a particular State oh is that have a good relationship with

[40:40] the cops in our area one of the chief person told us well we really don't really want to do anything he's saying in a kind wait we really don't want to do anything because if we do then we're blamed for what we do it's kind of like this child oh you blamed us cops oh they're they're being very everything is being becoming so sensitive everything there's no conversation no authentic conversations taking place in America Democrats hate Republicans Republicans hate Democrats like across the board I'm like serious but it's it's bigger than that because even within the Republican Party or even within the Democratic Party they don't like each other but he

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment wCe73zqCi_I/s/11. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/wce73zqci_i/s/11/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.