The Democratic Party sponsored and suggested legislation throws even more money to police forces and does nothing to suggest curtailing the undue influence public employee unions have with the cities and localities they are supposed to serve. If anything the large unions have already walked back any talk that collective bargaining agreements are shielding the police and they have exerted their pressure on politicians at all levels. The reason being is because these public employee unions know if police unions fall then teachers will be next and the party cannot allow that.
So expect nothing more than a few hundred million dollars splashed around and virtue signaling bills offered up, this is a bill which is not expected to pass but if it does in the end does nothing to actually fix the problem.
To fix the police requires locking up their guns to where gaining access to them is under very set rules that cannot be watered down with exceptions. It requires requiring at all times, subject to termination, the full use of cameras any time they work either as police or contracted work in uniform; like directing traffic or protection for private individuals. It requires an outside board govern disciplinary proceedings and not leaving it up to the police force to prosecute their own when they do wrong. It requires keeping records for the lifetime of every officer that follows them where they go.
There is a lot that can be done but just watching the news shows how much is being done to insure not much actually changes but that politicians get their face time needs satisfied.
If it only means that other politically connected groups that are territorial about funding get it instead of police departments, then...good? I mean, part of the accountability problem with law enforcement is the institutional power that comes from the amount that is centralized in the monolithic local law enforcement agencies.
(And “hundreds of millions” is probably right or in some cases low for a single large local department; e.g., LA's mayor who opposes the “defund” movement has backed a $150 million shift along the same lines for the LAPD, a large number of NY City Council members and candidates are calling for $1 billion to be redistributed from NYPDs annual budget.)
> The Democratic Party sponsored and suggested legislation throws even more money to police forces
If the defund (and even more clearly the dismantle/abolish) movement is successful, the local agencies with law enforcement functions applying for and receiving that federal funding may not (in the latter case will not) be the centralized paramilitary police forces that are targeted by defund/dismantle/abolish.
None of these movements are opposed to law enforcement functions, or to funding them.