Defunding Prince William police remains an option in county’s strategic planning process

The third time wasn’t the charm for Prince William police, as County Supervisors on Tuesday failed to bar language from the county’s upcoming strategic plan that would call for defunding the department.

In a 5-3 vote, most Democrats on the Board voted against an effort by Supervisor Peter Candland (R-Gainesville) to block efforts to “reallocate” or defund police.

On October 20, volunteers who are working on the county’s 2021 strategic plan — a document that will be used to provide direction to county government over the next four years — briefed the Board of County Supervisors on their work and cited responses from the public who called for defunding the department.

Candland said those volunteers misrepresented those comments, making it appear as if most respondents urged for defunding the department — one who has had over a 90% citizen satisfaction rate since 2009.

Of the 112 comments received by the strategic planning team, only 12 called for defunding police. Candland’s resolution suggested as previous Boards of Supervisors have, to create “guardrails” for the strategic planning committee to follow, similar to the guidelines the Board of Supervisors passed in June dictating to the committee to use an “equity lens” when developing the plan, to identity needed social justice reforms in the county.

Candland’s failed resolution comes after the Board of County Supervisors voted in June and July to support and to adequately fund the police department, respectively.

It also follows months of calls from speakers at Board of County Supervisors, who identify with the Black Live Matter movement, to defund and eradicate the police department, calling it an arm of the prison industrial complex that unjustly targets youths minorities.

“We saw a strong but small movement to defund the police. They were not unclear in their intentions. They were not trying to hide it,” said Candland.

Democrats said they don’t want to stifle public input on the upcoming strategic plan. Not entertaining calls to defund the police would amount to residents’ First Amendment rights being trampled.

“We’ve already had two resolutions to say we’re going to fully-fund the police department. I don’t know how many more of these things we need to have,” said Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry.

There was a lot of disinformation in Candland’s resolution, says Woodbridge District Supervisor Angela Franklin.

“There has been no discussion of defunding police on this Board,” said Franklin. “This is an attempt to create chaos and sew discord in the community.”

It was Franklin who — following an unlawful assembly just outside Manassas on May 30, where Virginia State Police used teargas to keep rioters at bay — posted a statement to Facebook telling the community she had instructed then Acting Police Chief Jarad Phelps she didn’t want tear gas used on rioters.

“I don’t think that statement makes any sense,” said Melissa Robey, founder of We Back Blue, a group that has organized pro-police rallies across the country since May. “People who are in uniform are trained to be in uniform, and they are trained to do a lot more than a regular person, and they’ve been in situations that the normal citizen wouldn’t know how to react to.”

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is expected to review a final draft of the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan this month.