Unintentionally, The Baltimore Sun editorial touting “defunding” police departments abets the efforts of those who use the term to ramp up their rhetoric to demonize “The Radical Left” (“Defund the police: Not as scary (or new) as it sounds,” June 8). The focus should be on strategically redirecting or reallocating resources to improve, not disband, public safety functions.
The Portland, Oregon, city government has reportedly decided to discontinue its school resource officer program, and there are some in Maryland who recommend similar action. In my view, this would be a mistake. When I served as Anne Arundel County executive during the recession more than a decade ago, I found the resources to increase the number of school resource officers in our middle schools and I was pleased to see one of my successors add to the total.
These officers not only represent a line of defense in instances of terrorism emergencies but also a means of diverting students from criminal behavior while providing a counseling lifeline for mental health assistance. Retraining school resource officers to enhance the student-police relationship is a more pragmatic solution than disbanding or defunding a legitimate police responsibility.
John R. Leopold, Pasadena
The writer, a Republican, served as county executive for Anne Arundel County from 2006 to 2013.
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