Dr. Erroll Southers appeared on the British program Broadcast to discuss the concept of defunding police departments. Joined by Brookings Institution Fellow Andre Perry and Black Lives Matter Organizer Akili, he explained the data-driven approaches to police reform and called for a re-imagining of policing in America. He said in part:
“Data should inform these decisions. As we talk about defunding the police and taking certain allocations away, there should be a peer-reviewed assessment of the department to determine what they need…The vast majority of calls that police get don’t require a use of force and don’t require a stranger with a weapon to show up. However, the problem is we live in a 911 culture in America. The police get called for everything.”
Watch the full video below.