Empower Free People
With or Without Guns or Police— The Recipe Ingredients
As we hear daily reports of shootings by white law enforcement officers of black people, suggestions to defund the police or take guns out of circulation inevitably follow. To be more nuanced, could our expectations of police be handled by a different kind of agency? Or is there a lot more to human safety and thriving than police and guns?
A city without a police force
Sunnyvale, CA is the 7th most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area and is located in Silicon Valley. Rather than a police department, it has a Department of Public Safety. It combines police, fire, and emergency medical services to provide safety and services to the community. The department invites citizen participation and has five ways to join in:
- by becoming a Public Safety Officer,
- volunteering with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT),
- starting a Neighborhood Watch program,
- learning crime prevention tips from the Crime Prevention Unit, or
- volunteering in the Junior Giants, a Police Athletic League program.
It is a very prosperous city. Per DataUSA, from 2017 to 2018 the population grew to 152,323 and median income is $131,791. It has a poverty rate of 5.76%. The largest ethnic group was Asian non-Hispanic. They are 45.7% and White Non-Hispanic and White Hispanic are another 41.2%.
People in Sunnyvale are highly educated. Sixty-five percent of the people have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 67.2% studied science or engineering at the bachelor’s level.
So the people of Sunnyvale can afford to maintain an alternative to a traditional police department, and they are well educated enough to come up with the idea.
I have friends among the Asian non-Hispanic population of Sunnyvale. As is reflected in the statistics, they have a high value for education and work hard to excel in school. They do well in math and science and now have almost a subculture enraptured with technology. They also dedicate time and resources to learning and performing the classical arts like music, both vocal and insrumental, and dance.
During my study of Sanskrit and Vedanta, spiritual study highly valued by Asian Non-Hispanic people, my spiritual teacher invited young students of classical music and dance to perform often for us. I came to know and deeply appreciate these arts. Over the years, I’ve driven down to Sunnyvale and enjoyed many concerts and dance performances.
What influences the presence and size of a city’s police force?
As reported in the June 24, 2020 article “Cities with the Most Police per Capita” by John Harrington, cities with a lot of violent crime are likely to have larger police departments.
However, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was #1 with the most police officers per 100K people in the report. In that city, 22.4% of people live below the poverty level. The number of property crimes was close to eight times that of violent crimes per 100K. Washington, DC was #2. Per 100K, there were 1,404 violent crimes in Myrtle Beach vs. 941 in our capital city. This number does not include the January 6 invasion of the Capital Building. New York City was #4. With a population of 8,523,171, New York has the largest police force in the country.
The most violent cities in the U.S.
In the January 2, 2021 article by Dr. Andrew Schiller, “NeighborhoodScout’s Most Dangerous Cities,” the top five are
#1 — Detroit, MI, ranked #23 in number of police per 100K #2 — St. Louis, MO ranked #10 in number of police per 100K #3 — Memphis, TN, ranked #44 in numbr of police per 100K #4 — Baltimore, MD, ranked #14 in number of poloice per 100K #5 — Monroe, LA, did not make the list of 50 cities in John Harington’s article referenced above. In spite of its high rate of violence, its police department is too small to make the list.
Violence is not the only and not even the most important reason for a large police force. If it were, Detroit, MI would be #1 rather than #23 in the number of police per 100K of citizens, St. Louis, MO would be #2, and so on.
Detroit compared to Sunnyvale
How does Detroit, the most violent city in the U.S. compare to Sunnyvale? The median age in both cities is 35. The median income in Detroit is less than one quarter that of Sunnyvale. In 2019 it was $31,283 vs. $131,791 in Sunnyvale, according to DataUSA. The Detroit poverty rate was 36.4%. vs. 5.76% for Sunnyvale. Detroit’s population (672,681) is more than four times that of Sunnyvale (152,323).
By comparison, police in Detroit, MI are a prominent part of city government. There are more members of the Board of Police Commissioners (11) than there are City Council Members (9 for seven city council districts and two elected at large). Two districts have Community Advisoty Councils. Why then is Detroit #23 in the number of police per 100K residents? Salaries and benefits for police are expensive.
The U.S. Census tells that 78.3% of people in Detroit are black or African American while 17.3% are white. The educational level is lower than in Sunnyvale. Eighty-one percent of people over 25 have a high school diploma in Detroit vs. 93% in Sunnyvale. Bachelor’s degrees or higher are held by 15.3% of people in Detroit and 65% of people in Sunnyvale in the same age range.
In the 1940’s Detroit was the fourth largest city in the US. The decline of Detroit is blamed on racism and the city’s dependence on a single industry, making cars. In the 1950’s the automobile industry started to leave the city. Up until the 1960’s Detroit was king of car manufacturing in the U.S., but then Japanese and European cars entered the American market.
Why did automakers leave Detroit? Wages and retirement benefits made the U.S. auto industry less competitive in the world market.
Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2013. It was the largest city to do so in US history. During the legal battle that followed, Detroit Water and Sewage Department shut off the water for more than 140,000 customers for nonpayment of their bills. The battle over water continues.
Could Motor City become Music City?
Detroit is famous for the creation and performance of music. Motown, the legendary label founded by Berry Gordi brought to the world the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5. Beloved Aretha Franklin came from Detroit but not that label. Detroit gave rock and roll Alice Cooper. Hard rock and punk brought out MC3 and Iggy Pop. Madonna grew up in a Detroit suburb. But music hasn’t saved the city — yet.
It may be that the city’s modest economic status makes it a music incubator. According to an article on the NPR website, “Why Can’t Detroit Cash in on Its Music Scene?” Mary Ramirez, who plays guitar for the Detroit Cobras, says Detroit offers a lot of inspiration to its musicians and something else even more basic. “Since the rent is cheaper and you can get like five people in a big house, people don’t spend a lot of time working,” Ramirez says. “There’s a lot of people available to play with you.”
Rachel Nagy, the band’s lead singer, agrees. “It’s not like New York, [where] you have to have three jobs just to pay your damn rent,” she says.
Visit the U.S.A. features “The Music Lover’s Guide to Detroit Rock City” by Kelli Korducki. It recommends that visitors take in the Art Deco theater district, the second largest in the country. Visitors can take in a concert at the Majestic Theatre Center, The Fillmore District, or The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. If museums and history light your day, check out The Motown Museum. You can see the studio where artists like Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie and the Commodores recorded hits. Per the website, their doors have reopened.
Through my prison ministry, I have a connection to Detroit. An inmate in Michigan State Prison loves the affirmative Christian New Thought spirituality I espouse, practice, and teach. He also is a musician. When the State of Michigan allowed it, he taught other inmates and they played and sang in church services and gave an occasional concert for all the residents and staff.
We have exchanged letters for 15 years. There was a chance he could earn his release through the governor’s action and I few to Detroit to attend the hearing about that. I met him and his family, including a cousin who lives in my state of Californioa. Since his victim’s name was Parham, my last name (Param) caused some nervousness on the part of those conducting the hearing.
Recipe for Safety
When people’s needs are met for the most part and they can move around freely without fear, that’s safety, right? Where there are a high percentage of people living in poverty, many peoples’ needs may not be met. In that situation, the presence of a police force with or without guns is not enough to guarantee safety, is not enough to prevent crime or violence. Attention to providing drinkable water and sufficient resources for people to have good food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, and creative expression that brings sufficient earning is necessary to prevent crime and violence and maintain a peaceful, thriving city. We’ve mastered rocket science. Let’s get serious about human well-being.
Aikya Param is a minister who writes. Her maternal uncle was a police officer. Aikya’s Medium publication is Swing Wide the Gate. To read more by Aikya, click here.