How ‘Defund The Police’ Affects Biden’s Campaign

One of the most important aspects of the legacy of George Floyd will be a series of police reforms designed to improve relations between law enforcement officers and residents of minority communities. What’s less certain is how ambitious those changes will be — and their potential impact on this country’s political landscape on the precipice of a critically important election.

The public’s mood has swung decisively in favor of more assertive police reform, and polls show former Vice President Joe Biden enjoys a roughly 2-to-1 margin of support over President Donald Trump on questions of which candidate is better equipped to bring together the country and to handle race relations. But while Trump’s incendiary behavior since Floyd’s death has caused the president significant political damage, Trump’s advisers believe that overly aggressive efforts to rein in law enforcement could present him with an opportunity to regain that lost ground with a “law and order” message designed to project these reforms as dangerous to public safety.

Biden will be forced to navigate a tricky landscape within his own Democratic Party as his allies begin an argument over exactly how hard to push a police reform agenda. Biden understands that while public opinion is overwhelmingly on the side of reform, many voters also will be wary of any measures that compromise the ability of law enforcement to protect public safety.

Congressional Democrats recently unveiled a comprehensive proposal to crack down on police wrongdoing, and while much of their package will enjoy broad public support, other aspects will be more controversial. Some proposals seem likely to be accepted with broad bipartisan support, most notably those having to do with strengthened use-of-force standards and enhanced anti-bias and de-escalation training procedures. That’s the low-hanging fruit: No one is going to be arguing in favor of choke holds. Another achievable reform may include the institution of a national police registry that would prevent so-called “rogue cops” from moving from one department to another after just-cause dismissal.

Trump has stepped up efforts to tie Biden to the defunding movement

But beyond those less-controversial goals, the discussion becomes more precarious for Biden. In the past, mandatory body cameras have raised issues relating to privacy and civil liberties. Opponents argue that a prohibition of no-knock warrants may make it easier for drug dealers to dispose of their products while police are waiting for entry. Even more challenging will be the argument about qualified legal immunity — the protections police officers have to shield them from lawsuits. Every one of these has the potential to cause great unease among key voter groups who have swung away from Trump toward Biden over the past few months.

Most challenging of all for Biden is the growing call for “defunding” police departments, an idea that is not part of the Democratic congressional package but is enjoying growing support from many party activists and elected officials. Most advocates make it clear their goal is not to shut down police departments but rather to redirect some funding from the police to social-service organizations to take on oversight of issues such as homelessness, drug abuse and other societal problems that have fallen to law enforcement over the years. But there is a sizable cohort demanding even more dramatic changes that would dismantle local police departments altogether.

Biden already has rejected these proposals, as have congressional Democratic leaders. But other voices from the left are less restrained. The Minneapolis City Council voted to move in this direction, and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has said the city’s police department should be disbanded.

None of this is lost on Trump, who has stepped up efforts to tie Biden to the defunding movement. Biden’s challenge has always been to balance the demands of his party’s base with the needs of swing voters. While the national discussion over race relations is of tremendous benefit to Democratic candidates this year, the accompanying conversation over public safety and law enforcement could be more treacherous.

Dan Schnur teaches political communications at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. He hosts the weekly webinar “Politics in the Time of Coronavirus” for the LA World Affairs Council Town Hall.