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Defund, Dismantle, or Define

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Law Enforcement and Public Health

Abstract

Calls to defund or dismantle the police are rooted in societal frustration that law enforcement and health cannot align their respective missions. Fear and negative health consequences exist in both direct contact with police and subsequent trajectory into criminalization. Equally heard is the call for changes in the way police are utilized to respond to issues of mental health and substance use. Since the inception of “modern” democratic policing, the institution of policing has amassed a spectrum of responsibilities, some self-imposed and others the result of gaps in fulsome health servicing, even as the growing body of literature provides evidence to the influence missing social determinants of health (SDOH) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have to both social disorder and crime. Policing for the public health—public health policing—is a model that must reflect and adopt, first and foremost, the primary mission of contributing to the health and wellness needs of the community.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term policing could also speak to a broader social concept of overarching control and authorities. For the discussion in this chapter, the focus is placed on the organizational needs and expectations that the public expects and the institution believes.

  2. 2.

    As example, see Ottawa Police Service https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/about-us/Peel-s-Principles-.aspx.

  3. 3.

    The reader may wish to explore the means and methods of the establishment of policing in other countries, and how those police institutions have evolved into their modern versions. For example, Canada created the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873 in response to the expansion of territory for settlement, the necessity to secure trade routes for commodities like alcohol, and make contact with Indigenous communities to strike treaties.

  4. 4.

    Retrieved November 3rd, 2020 from: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/mission.page.

  5. 5.

    Retrieved November 3rd, 2020 from: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/about-victoria-police.

  6. 6.

    Retrieved November 3rd, 2020 from: https://police.gov.gh/en/index.php/vision-mission/.

  7. 7.

    Retrieved November 3rd, 2020 from: https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/About-Us.aspx#Our-Mission-Vision-and-Values.

  8. 8.

    Retrieved November 3rd, 2020 from: https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/our-purpose-focus-and-values/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health and Community Studies, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    James Clover

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  1. James Clover
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Correspondence to James Clover .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tasmanian Inst. Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Isabelle Bartkowiak-Théron

  2. Faculty of Health and Community Studies, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    James Clover

  3. School of Business, Law and Social Science, Abertay University, Dundee, UK

    Denise Martin

  4. Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Richard F. Southby

  5. Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Nick Crofts

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Clover, J. (2022). Defund, Dismantle, or Define. In: Bartkowiak-Théron, I., Clover, J., Martin, D., Southby, R.F., Crofts, N. (eds) Law Enforcement and Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83913-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83913-0_3

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