Some people want to defund the police, and we know it’s not that simple. How can we support the evolution of police and public safety?
When we talk about defunding, we need to really define what that means. In its true essence, I don’t support it. I don’t support defunding the police department if it means taking all the resources away from the police department and giving them to something else. I do support reimagining policing.
The police department is asked to do way too much. We are social workers, teachers, tutors. In our role, we want to play a huge part in supporting our community, but the initial response should not be on the police. We have [people with] mental health [issues] that we’re responsible for, homelessness and animal catching. So, we have to do all of these things, none of which are in our toolbox. If the city is able to take those responsibilities away from us and provide finances, monies, fiduciary responsibilities to some other entity, we welcome that.
As a female leader, how would you describe your leadership style?
I don’t have one particular leadership style. One of the things that I pride myself on is knowing my audience. My police department is made up of baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z, so your leadership style has to adapt and change based upon who you’re dealing with.
