Defund the UK police and invest the funds into communities

Rejected 10 signatures

What the petition asks

For many, 'Defund the Police' can come across as radical. However, taking a look beyond the surface shows a promising initiative that could transform the UK for the better. The police are used for all manner of problems, even ones that would benefit from more specialised assistance.

In 2018-19 the Government spent £28.8bn on the criminal justice system. This is more than we spend on primary education, the environment or social care. 750 youth centres have closed since 2012 according to Unite, leading to a loss of 4,500 workers. Black people are 9.7 times more likely to be stopped and searched according to official figures. In 2017-18 the police used force 62,000 times, more than a third of those incidents involved Black people, according to the London Datastore.

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to make a clear ask of the UK Government or Parliament. You want the Government to provide funding for local communities to tackle problems that would "benefit from specialised assistance" however you don't specify which problems these are or what initiatives you would want this funding to be spent on.

You could start a petition which called for the Government to increase funding to tackle specified community issues, for example youth services or public housing, if that is something you'd like to happen.

Timeline

5 Jul 2020	Petition opened for signatures
14 Sep 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 10

Status Rejected

Rejected 14 Sep 2020

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