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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsCriminal IssuesDefunding the PoliceStarted 6yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should funding for local police departments be redirected to social and community based programs?

“Defund the police” is a slogan that supports divesting funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and other community resources.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 6k South Dakota voters.

30%
Yes
70%
No
26%
Yes
59%
No
3%
Yes, replace police with unarmed community based responders for non-violent calls
11%
No, increase funding and training for police departments in higher crime rate communities
0%
Yes, and abolish the police

Historical Support

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from South Dakota voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8KZ52SJ from Pennsylvania  answered…6yrs6Y

No, unless excessive funding is being given to police in a particular community at the expense of education and other beneficial social programs. Most of the time it is not that one needs to take from another, but that both need more attention.

 @8JQR5ZZ from Virginia  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, police should not be abolished however, they should no be called for all situations such as mental health crisis as they are not trained to deal with all matters.

 @8NVH9PW from Alabama  answered…6yrs6Y

I'm mixed on this. I do want the funding to go to other programs but only if it helps the other programs and doesn't completely destroy the police.

 @8LXNRNM from Louisiana  answered…6yrs6Y

No, increase funding and make them train longer than a barber.

 @8HW7NQ9 from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

Increase training of police AND social and community based programs.

 @8NBW5VX from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

i believe some cops are good and some are bad but having untrained people come and tryto fight our crime is too risky

 @8M7WLY4 from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

When better service can be provided.

 @8NLCFW4 from Nebraska  answered…6yrs6Y

they should have more restrictions and the government should be more strict about how the police does their job

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

▲  1012 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

A Moment of Darkness': Washington Post's No-Endorsement Decision Ignites Media Firestorm

Even though the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck, The Washington Post has decided not to make a presidential endorsement for the first time in 36 years, the publisher and CEO announced Friday."We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates," Will Lewis wrote in an opinion piece published on the paper's website. He referenced the paper's policy in the decades prior to 1976, when, following the Watergate scandal that the Post broke, it endorsed Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. The last time the Post did not endorse a presidential candidate in the general election was 1988, according to a search of its archives.Colleagues learned the news from the editorial page editor, David Shipley, at a tense meeting shortly before Lewis' announcement. The meeting was characterized by someone with direct knowledge of discussions on condition of anonymity to speak about internal matters.Shipley said that he told other editorial board leaders Thursday by management that there would be no endorsement, though he has known for weeks. He added that he "owns" this decision. The reason he cited was to create "independent space" where the newspaper does not tell people for whom to vote.Colleagues were said to be "shocked" and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump's presidency, denounced the decision starkly."This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty," Baron said in a statement to NPR. "Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage."A similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong led this week to the resignations of the paper's editorials editor and two editorial board members. Soon-Shiong said that he had asked the editorial board to draft a "factual analysis" of Trump and Harris' policies and plans. In her resignation letter, editorials editor Mariel Garza said the decision made the paper look “craven and hypocritical,” given its past reporting and editorials on Trump.

▲  1013 replies

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Based on 6k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should funding for local police departments be redirected to social and community based programs?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/4366038820

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