Case Study: Evaluating the “Defund Movement:” The Politics of Defunding the Police.
… although many of the ideas for defunding the police might seem radical or unrealistic – particularly when the message is condensed to fit on a protest sign or in social media posts – these ideas actually closely mirror many of the perspectives and effective strategies heard from criminal justice practitioners … The idea they put forward thus often focused on more fundamental reforms, including asking society to revisit the range of things that it expects law enforcement and criminal justice to address. (Perspective from RAND Corp, 2020)
Media Analysis
1. *Surveying at least three news articles that cover the issue of ‘defunding the police’ (local and national, Canadian only) please answers the following questions:
a. How are the issues being presented and framed? With the support of examples; are the issues communicated in an objective/neutral or biased fashion? (Bias here meaning an outward support or sympathy for the police or protestors that aims to persuade or establish a dominant narrative rather than simply inform.) (5 marks 2-3 paragraphs) or
a. In your estimation, do the articles clearly communicate the grievances involved (the reasons behind calls for defunding,) in an ‘informative’ fashion? Provide examples (5 marks 2-3 paragraphs)
b. How are the police portrayed in these articles? Given the amount of time we have spent discussing the history, theory and practical applications of modern policing, is the media depiction of the policing function (contextualized in a Canadian context) accurate/helpful? (5 marks 2-3 paragraphs)
Policy Implications
2. Using at least one **academic source (journal, scholarly article) and at least two ***long form ‘popular media’ articles to support your conclusions please answer the following questions:
a. In your estimation, what are the main/practical concerns being raised by the ‘defund movement in Canada?’ Are there any limitations worth exploring? (10 marks 3-4 paragraphs) or
a. Having surveyed the various arguments made by those who support a ‘defunding campaign,’ in your estimation, what are the most pressing strengths and weaknesses that require public discussion and debate (in a Canadian context)? (10 marks 3-4 paragraphs)
b. After having surveyed the media landscape, some academic work and public messaging from various think tanks, protest and social reform groups, assume the position of a provincial policy advisor, what advice would you provide on the question of defunding the police? (20 marks 4-5 paragraphs)
SOURCES
*Reputable News Sources: The National Post, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star
**Access academic sources from York Online Library Services. I prefer using the digital library platform JSTOR (available to you via York) for research. https://www.jstor.org/
***Examples of popular media platforms for long form articles could include: https://theconversation.com/ca, https://www.macleans.ca/, https://torontolife.com/, https://blacklivesmatter.ca/, https://quillette.com/, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/, https://www.fraserinstitute.org/, https://defund.ca/, (this list is not exhaustive.)