St. Louis, MO

[rohitkumarWUSTL]

Subject: Invest in our community and defund the St. Louis Metro Police Dept. Contact: krewsonl@stlouis-mo.gov, reedl@stlouis-mo.gov,

(Mayor and President of Board of Aldermen, respectively; should we include more email addresses?)

Contact info found at https://www.saintlouisdna.org/elected-officials/

Message:

Dear Mayor Krewson and President Reed,

My name is [NAME] and I am a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD/CITY]. I am extremely concerned with the City of St. Louis’s inordinate investment in the Metropolitan Police Department of St. Louis (SLMPD) at the expense of critical youth, education, and health services. The budget for FY2021 explicitly states a goal to "increase the number of police officers to support public safety measures throughout the City", which I believe to be counterproductive to our shared goal of public safety.

I am therefore writing to demand that the Board of Aldermen vote to reapportion funds allocated to the SLMPD to support evidence-based programs and services that, unlike increased police presence, promote the well-being of citizens and reduce crime. It is unacceptable to dedicate $140 million per year towards policing in the name of safety; the attack on undercover officer Luther Hall in 2017, and the text messages that were revealed in the subsequent indictment, definitively reveal a total lack of accountability for a police department that truly does not care about the safety and well-being of its residents. I do not believe that this incident reflects solely on the officers responsible, but on the department as a whole.

In the words of Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, “Now is the time to defund policing and instead fund alternative, more-effective systems of safety and justice. We see in practice that robust investments in education, jobs, healthcare, stable housing, and public infrastructure are the only real antidotes to crime. All over the country, communities are building networks of mutual support and accountability to respond when harm occurs. The options are plentiful, from social workers to community organizers to crisis response teams. We must develop and embrace practices that prioritize our health, humanity, and collective wellbeing.”

People are marching in the streets because they know that these actions will result in a healthier, more just society. I implore you to please listen to the needs of your constituents and take immediate action to address their concerns.

Thank you, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

[ctneal91]

on it now

[dionlarson]

Do we want to push this back to content-ready-for-review or publish this as is and pull in edits from #778 later?

[ctneal91]

just let me know what we want to do and i can resubmit my PR

[serifluous]

Edits below to keep the ball rolling on this one. Pulling in language from #778

Budget numbers confirmed here:

• Police budget, p153
• Health and hospitals budget, p203
• Human services budget, p217

Subject: Invest in our community and defund the St. Louis Metro Police Dept. Contact: krewsonl@stlouis-mo.gov; reedl@stlouis-mo.gov; tyuss@stlouis-mo.gov; middlebrookl@stlouis-mo.gov; bosleyb@stlouis-mo.gov; hubbardt@stlouis-mo.gov; ingrassiac@stlouis-mo.gov; coatarj@stlouis-mo.gov; ricea@stlouis-mo.gov; guentherd@stlouis-mo.gov; vollmerj@stlouis-mo.gov; martins@stlouis-mo.gov; murphyb@stlouis-mo.gov; howardca@stlouis-mo.gov; greenm@stlouis-mo.gov; oldenburgt@stlouis-mo.gov; roddyj@stlouis-mo.gov; toddj@stlouis-mo.gov; davisma@stlouis-mo.gov; spencerc@stlouis-mo.gov; collinsmuhammadj@stlouis-mo.gov; boydj@stlouis-mo.gov; vaccaroj@stlouis-mo.gov; narayanb@stlouis-mo.gov; cohns@stlouis-mo.gov; clark-hubbards@stlouis-mo.gov; boydp@stlouis-mo.gov; navarroh@stlouis-mo.gov

Message:

Dear Mayor Krewson and Members of the Board of Alderman,

My name is [NAME] and I am a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD/CITY]. I am extremely concerned with the City of St. Louis’s inordinate investment in the Metropolitan Police Department of St. Louis (SLMPD) at the expense of critical youth, education, and health services. The budget for FY2021 explicitly states a goal to "increase the number of police officers to support public safety measures throughout the City", which I believe to be counterproductive to our shared goal of public safety.

I am therefore writing to demand that the Board of Aldermen vote to reapportion funds allocated to the SLMPD to support evidence-based programs and services that, unlike increased police presence, promote the well-being of citizens and reduce crime. It is unacceptable to dedicate $140 million per year towards policing in the name of safety. In other words, over a quarter of the City’s general fund budget is allocated directly to police services. By contrast, the same Proposed Budget allocates only $12.7 million to health and hospitals, and less than $1.8 million to human services, including social service programs for the elderly, homeless, veterans, people with disabilities, children, and families in need.

St. Louis is one of the most segregated cities in the United States. And the City’s and region’s history of police brutality in recent years—from the shooting of Michael Brown and nation-galvanizing outcry thereafter, to the shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, acquittal of Jason Stockley, and protests that followed—is a stain on our community that must be wiped out. The attack on undercover officer Luther Hall in 2017, and the text messages that were revealed in the subsequent indictment, definitively reveal a total lack of accountability for a police department that truly does not care about the safety and well-being of its residents. I do not believe that this incident reflects solely on the officers responsible, but on the department as a whole.

In the words of Blake Strode, executive director of ArchCity Defenders, “Now is the time to defund policing and instead fund alternative, more-effective systems of safety and justice. We see in practice that robust investments in education, jobs, healthcare, stable housing, and public infrastructure are the only real antidotes to crime. All over the country, communities are building networks of mutual support and accountability to respond when harm occurs. The options are plentiful, from social workers to community organizers to crisis response teams. We must develop and embrace practices that prioritize our health, humanity, and collective wellbeing.”

I understand that the Proposed Budget will be reviewed and considered by the full Board of Alderman during June 2020. I demand that an emergency public meeting be called before the 2021 fiscal year goes into effect, in order for St. Louisans’ concerns about this budget to be heard. And I call on the Board of Alderman to take the tens of millions of dollars currently allocated to police services, and to responsibly reallocate those funds to underfunded resources that more directly benefit the lives of St. Louisans, including COVID19 relief, healthcare, homelessness, affordable housing, substance abuse treatment, and community centers and other community-led organizations and projects.

People are marching in the streets because they know that these actions will result in a healthier, more just society. I hope I can count on you to consider an alternative budget that reduces our over-reliance on police services and puts the focus on services that truly benefit public safety in our community—and particularly in our under-serviced Black and Brown community. I implore you to please listen to the needs of your constituents and take immediate action to address their concerns.

Thank you, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]

[louhealthstl]

There is a petition circulating in St Louis that has specific asks relevant to this letter that we might want them to look at (https://bit.ly/2YKdjsL). It might also be helpful to point out the specific increase in SLMPD budget (from general funds) that is happening this year: $3,084,803. That's a specific area where funds can be reallocated immediately.