Philadelphia BLM activists have plan to defund, dismantle police in the next five years

The Black Lives Matter Philadelphia chapter is calling for the "complete abolition" of the city's police department in the next five years. 

In the six weeks since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, the Black Lives Matter movement has been calling for radical changes across the country in terms of how communities protect their streets. The centerpiece of the conversation has been how and whether to defund local and state police departments.

The Philadelphia chapter of BLM has reportedly developed a plan to gradually dismantle and defund the police in an effort to end incidents of racial injustice. 

"One of the things that we are demanding over five years is the complete abolition. We don't want to see any police in our community. Over the course of those five years, it gives time for the community to begin to build what is needed. We aren't looking to leave any kind of vacancy around the issue of safety," BLM activist YahNé Ndgo told Fox News.

Critics of such a plan argue the absence of authority could lead to a surge in crime and point to police officers taking a hands-off approach in the George Floyd protests, which were connected to homicides, looting, arson and the taking over of police precincts. 

Ndgo's philosophy is that communal problems need to be addressed from "the ground up," by allocating funds that would otherwise have been directed toward the police department budget.

She says the city needs to "build out our mental health response teams, and build medic responses." 

The history of the police force is "centered around the ruling class and protection of the ruling class and being an extension of the system of oppression," said Ndgo. "Quite often, if there is violence happening, by the time the police arrive, that has already occurred and particularly in poor neighborhoods and in black and brown communities. So the police are not really a resource for preventing that kind of crime from happening. Just a response," she continued.

Click on the podcast to hear more about what's happening with some police departments across America.