Defund the Police? or Reimagine the Police? Leaders in Law Enforcement’s Perspective on the Role of Social Workers in Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT

Purpose

There have been calls to defund the police and redistribute funding to public safety strategies including incorporating social workers within law enforcement to address nonviolent situations.

Method

A cross-sectional survey research design was used to describe the need for a social worker embedded in law enforcement among 335 leaders in law enforcement

Results

Approximately a third of leadership believed a social worker was needed. More than 90% reported that a social worker would be helpful with calls about emotional disturbances, domestic violence, alcohol and drugs, child endangerment, family disputes, victims of crime and death survivors. Over 94% of senior leadership reported that an onsite social worker would support officers’ emotional challenges, alcohol and drugs, and suicide risk. Senior supervising leadership were more likely to support having an on-site social worker than frontline leadership.

Discussion

Future research should assess whether including social workers as public safety alternatives could reduce unnecessary force by law enforcement.

KEYWORDS:

• Defund the police
• social workers
• mental health
• law enforcement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.