High-profile incidents in recent years, including the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 have cast a spotlight on the role of the police. The concern about the escalation of crisis situations and over shootings – particularly of unarmed Black citizens – have extended into a broader look at police techniques, use of armed force, and even the question of whether the police are the right responders at all in many situations. One version of proposed solutions was the so-called Defund the Police movement, which has met with decidedly mixed results, as voters have signaled that they want smaller reforms. Another version focused on the use of certain police techniques like chokeholds, and that idea seemed to be gaining traction among both parties in Congress before a reform effort was foundered.
But a third approach does appear to be moving forward. The FCC has required phone companies to make the number 988 operational by July 2022. It is intended as a new alternative to 911 for “Americans in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors.” Its purpose: to isolate these cases so that they can be responded to in a more specialized fashion—with social workers and, in some cases, specially trained police. Advocates believe that the new system may lead to fewer mental-health-related shootings by police and less involvement of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system.
But our guest today says that cities should proceed cautiously. In an article in City Journal entitled “The Future of Crisis Response, replacing cops with social workers for mental-health emergencies is fraught with risk, Stephen Eide argues that there are many unanswered questions and problems to consider. Dr. Eide is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal. He researches social policy questions such as homelessness and mental illness. He has written for many publications, including National Review, the New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, Politico, the Wall Street Journal. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Boston College.
