By: Diane Benjamin
http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1125&Inline=True
This committee of the Whole Meeting is back to 6:00 tonight.
Topic 1
Topic 2
Topic 3
Topic 3 is just a brief presentation by Jamie Mathy and then a Yes or No vote on whether to have staff and Council spend time looking at the issue.
Before any decision wastes time pursuing reimagining the police, shouldn’t the police be consulted?
This is a 2020 article about a City who has been sending social workers instead of police beginning in 2016, they think it works: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/19/alexandria-kentucky-police-social-workers
This 2015 article is about a social worker killed responding to a lady upset she lost custody: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-suspect-in-death-of-vermont-social-worker-due-in-2015aug09-story.html
It contains this quote:
Another social worker was killed in Seattle in 2020: https://policetribune.com/seattle-social-worker-murdered-by-client-as-city-wants-to-replace-cops-with-social-workers/
Actually, there are quite a few: Search “social worker killed in”.
I wonder if Bloomington, like Normal, have lost so many officers they want to fill empty spots with civilians. Social Workers cost about half what a police officer does.
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My daughter graduated with her MSW two years ago. She could speak at length why sending social workers out with police is a horrendous idea. If anyone from the council reads your site Diane, I hope they come to the realization this is NOT the answer.
See if she is up to making a public comment! At least email the Council, copying me of course or nobody will see it.
Social Worker Policing –
If this did work every police force in the nation would have been doing it long before now.
The social warrior’s among us stated goal is to – defund and “divest” (rid oneself of something that one no longer wants or requires) from police and prisons.
Their stated reasoning – police are racist.
Their stated proof that police are racists – there are more blacks by population in jail and prison than other races. (faulty logic)
The result of their goal from recent history- anarchy and a quick return of funding to police.
A quiet community of 10,000 is very much different than a community of 130,000.
Let’s be very careful about starting a dangerous social experiment such as this to appease a small minority of vocal activists. Lives are at stake.
I’m glad Mathy shows his progressive ideology occasionally.
Jamie is acting as a tool for the DSA. If this initiative is brought forward by him, it will be more likely to be accepted than if brought forward by Jenn and her “defund the police agenda.”
I don’t know, maybe this dangerous but toothless idea is just to appease radicals on the council.
However –
1. It won’t
2. It will add more expense not less.
3. It could cost some poor defenseless soul their life.
I wish we had council members that tried a little harder to do the right thing, not the easy thing.
This is a backdoor to defunding or reimagining the police. Change my mind.
A concern I would have is actually the safety of officers responding with social workers. One thing an officer does not need is another “civilian” to have to be concerned for in a potentially dangerous situation. I could see an officer getting distracted if the social worker may appear to be in harms way. A distraction of this type could be seen as “letting his/her guard down” for a second, at which time harm could be directed towards the officer. They have enough to focus on without having to also be looking out for a social worker as an additional responsibility.
Agreed!