The Charleston City Council voted today to approve the City of Charleston’s FY21 budget. The approved FY21 budget gives the Charleston Police Department (CPD) 26 percent ($53,410,792) of all funds in the city budget, despite the fact that 86.2 percent of arrests last year were for nonviolent, largely low-level offenses like marijuana possession and open container of alcohol.
While CPD is set to receive 26 percent of budgeted funds next year, almost a third of Charleston residents face shelter poverty, where high housing costs force people to forgo other basic needs. Pedestrians and cyclists face one of the highest fatality rates in the country. People in need of mental health or substance use treatment do not have access to these services in large part because there are not enough services.
“If public safety really means ensuring the safety and well being of all, then we must focus on the needs outlined by the community, like ensuring all people have a roof over their head, comprehensive healthcare, reliable and safe transportation routes, a living wage, and quality public education,” said Shaquille Fontenote from Lowcountry Action Committee. “Instead, the Charleston City Council decided to give the Charleston Police Department over 25 percent of the city’s FY21 budget - the same police department that, since 2015, has made more arrests for marijuana possession than all violent crime combined, and has done so with a staggering racial bias. Today’s decision by City Council means that Black and other marginalized communities in Charleston will continue to be over-policed and under-resourced.”
The Charleston Police Department has enforced laws with a staggering racial bias. During the first half of 2020, the Charleston Police Department arrested Black people for marijuana possession at 6.25 times the rate of white people. This pattern is not limited to marijuana arrests. According to the police department's own arrest data, since 2015, despite being only 26.3 percent of the population, Black people have made up:
- 45.6 percent of Disorderly Conduct charges.
- 40 percent of Disobeying a Lawful Order charges.
- 54.7 percent of Open Container, Alcohol charges.
- 54.0 percent of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charges.
- 46.2 percent of Public Urination charges.
- 69.9 percent of Loitering charges.
“The Charleston Police Department cites and arrests Black people at staggering rates compared to white people, yet today the Charleston City Council provided another blank check to continue their business as usual,” said Joshua Parks from Lowcountry Action Committee. “In the birthplace of America’s first police force which was originally established as a slave patrol, this expansion of policing is a direct dismissal of the outcries of Black people who continue to be oppressed by the racist foundation and structure of policing in Charleston.”
Today’s vote ignored calls from the community to reallocate $5 million dollars from policing into permanently affordable housing, youth and education programs, sidewalks, weatherization programs, living wages for city employees, and meaningful investment in and dialogue with the Special Commission on Equity, Inclusion and Racial Conciliation.
“If the goal of Charleston’s public safety system is to actually keep the public safe, then we must finally do away with the myth that policing is the way to keep us safe,” said ACLU of South Carolina representative, Emily Walter. “Law enforcement officers have handcuffs, guns, pepper spray, tasers, and, under certain conditions, the power to make arrests and use lethal force. With today’s vote, the City Council doubled down on its decision to turn the CPD into society's ‘solution’ for drug use, misbehaving children at school, homelessness, mental illness and protests against these destructive policies, to name just a few. As a society, we have others who are better trained and equipped to handle these various issues.”
The Charleston People’s Budget Coalition will continue to work with the community to build a Charleston that is safe and just for all.
To learn more about the Charleston People’s Budget Coalition please visit: www.charlestonpeoplesbudget.com
