Mathew Silverman is the National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and a board member for Law Enforcement Today.
Ly Xinzhen Brown a Baltimore County candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates says, police and prisons “should not exist,” while also acknowledging that abolition is a distant goal. But if Brown wants Baltimore County to reduce police funding, residents deserve a clear answer to a basic question: when a crime happens, who responds?
If someone reports an assault, a break-in, or a threat in progress, who arrives, protects people at the scene, and investigates? Who responds to an active shooter, helps manage a dangerous traffic collision, or assists during a medical emergency? Police are often among the first responders in these situations. Any plan to reduce their role should explain which trained personnel would take on those duties, how quickly they could respond, and how they would protect people in immediate danger.
The same questions apply to prisons. If the long-term goal is to eliminate them, what happens to people currently incarcerated, including those convicted of serious or violent crimes? Would they be released, moved to other facilities, or placed in community programs? What safeguards would protect victims and the public? Brown’s comments, as reported, do not lay out those details.
Some people invoke The Purge as a shorthand for what a society without law enforcement might look like. The movie is fiction, not a realistic forecast. Still, it captures a legitimate public concern: laws need institutions capable of responding when someone breaks them and protecting people who are at risk. Saying society should eventually need police and prisons less does not answer how those responsibilities would be handled in the meantime.
Brown argues that the county’s $277 million police budget has not solved crime and that more money should address its causes. Prevention and support services can matter, but that figure alone does not establish that reducing police funding would make residents safer. The proposal needs to explain what would change, what would replace current services, and how the county would respond to emergencies during the transition.
Reform and prevention deserve serious discussion. So does the practical work of protecting people when violence occurs. Before endorsing abolition or cuts to police funding, residents should expect a detailed plan for emergency calls, investigations, victim protection, and the people currently held in prisons. Without those answers, the proposal remains an aspiration, not a public safety plan.
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