Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced plans on Monday to move certain functions away from the police department along with a proposed $76 million cut to its budget while criticizing a proposal backed by elected leaders to defund the police force by half.
Durkan’s plan calls for $56 million to be slashed from the department’s more than $400 million budget and be redirected toward other needs. Another $20 million could be cut next year in the form of shuttered plans to expand the police force, the Seattle Times reported.
The first step would be to move civilian functions outside the police department, such as the city’s 911 call center, parking enforcement, the Office of Emergency Management and the Office of Police Accountability, Durkan said.
“We both recognize that we have a historical opportunity and obligation to reimagine how policing can be done in Seattle,” she said during a news briefing. “We believe deeply in broad community investments which can build greater community help and less need to call 911 for help.”
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