DefundPolice.org is a central hub for coordinating and sharing resources among organizations dedicated to defunding the police. DefundPolice.org is run by the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, a project of the New Venture Fund, which received at least $4 million from George Soros’s Foundation to Promote Open Society between 2019 and 2020, and which is managed by Arabella Advisors. ¹

Defundpolice.org and the defund the police movement are closely intertwined with Black Lives Matter. The website’s partners include Movement for Black Lives, Black Lives Matter Canada, and Law for Black Lives.

Background

In the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, activists called on cities and localities to “defund the police” in favor of alternative crime reduction strategies, including increased funding for mental health counseling, affordable housing, and welfare programs. Since its founding, DefundPolice.org claims that the movement has caused $840 million in divestment from police departments, $160 million in investments in alternative crime reduction strategies, bans on “chemical/military grade weapons” in six cities, and bans on facial recognition systems in four cities. ²

In May 2021, numerous organizations in favor of defund the police, led by the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, created defundpolice.org to centralize and coordinate the movement. ³

Activities

Legislative Resources

DefundPolice.org compiles federal, state, and local proposals to defund the police. This component of the website started as Database for Police Abolition, a volunteer group formed in June 2020. In January 2021, DefundPolice.org absorbed Database for Police Abolition. ⁴

Budgeting Tools

DefundPolice.org features tools for calculating the costs of police forces in cities throughout the country and the opportunity costs of police alternatives. For instance, the “Cost of Police” tool shows the percentage of municipal budgets dedicated to the police as a percentage of overall budgets in the United States’s 300 largest cities. The “Pricing Policing in Your City Tool” shows changes in police spending over time compared to other major municipal expenditures, like education and housing. ⁵

Organizing Resources

DefundPolice.org compiles events held by allied organizations dedicated to defunding the police. ⁶

Partners

The following organizations are partners in DefundPolice.org: Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, Movement for Black Lives, Critical Resistance, Interrupting Criminalization, PolicyLink, Black Youth Project 100, the Center for Popular Democracy, Law for Black Lives, Database for Police Abolition, Action Center on Race and the Economy, Advancement Project, Alliance for Educational Justice, Freedom Labs, Alliance for Educational Justice, Advancement Project, and Black Lives Matter Canada. ⁷

1. Vazquez, Joseph. “George Soros Funnels $4 Million into Extremist Group Looking to Defund Police.” Newsbusters. December 10, 2021. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2021/12/10/george-soros-funnels-4-million-extremist-group-looking.
2. “What is Defund the Police?” DefundPolice.org. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/.
3. “The Demand is still #DefundThePolice.” Interrupting Criminalization. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DefundThePoliceUpdate-1.pdf.
4. “Defund the Police.” DefundPolice.org. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/about/.
5. “Budgeting Tools.” DefundPolice.org. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/budgeting-tools/.
6. “Organizing resources.” DefundPolice.org. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/organizing-resources/.
7. “Defund the Police.” DefundPolice.org. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://defundpolice.org/about/.