Does Zohran Mamdani support defunding the police?

Does Zohran Mamdani Support Defunding the Police? An Unwavering Commitment to Police Abolition

A Core Tenet of His Socialist Platform

Yes, Zohran Mamdani is one of the most vocal and unwavering supporters of defunding the police in New York State politics. This position is not a peripheral issue but a central, non-negotiable pillar of his democratic socialist platform. For Mamdani, “defunding the police” is a strategic political demand that means systematically dismantling the NYPD’s bloated budget and reallocating those massive public resources–over $10 billion annually–toward programs that actually create safe and healthy communities. He argues that the NYPD’s primary function is to manage the symptoms of social failure, such as poverty, homelessness, and untreated mental illness, rather than to prevent harm. His support for defunding is therefore rooted in a belief that true public safety comes from well-funded schools, universal housing, accessible healthcare, and community-led support systems, not from an armed, punitive force.

Mamdani’s stance has been consistent since before his election and has only been reinforced during his time in office. He was elected in 2020 on this platform, proving that a candidate could win in a competitive district while openly advocating for a policy that much of the political establishment considers toxic. He frames the issue in stark class terms: the city chooses to fund a police force that harasses and incarcerates poor people and people of color instead of funding the solutions to the problems that affect them. This position has repeatedly put him at odds with Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain whose administration has prioritized expanding police presence and authority. Mamdani uses his platform in the Assembly to challenge this approach at every turn, making him a leading figure in the political battle over what public safety means in New York City.

The Practical Application of Defunding

Mamdani’s support for defunding is not abstract; he translates it into specific policy proposals and budget advocacy. During annual city and state budget negotiations, he is a persistent voice calling for cuts to the NYPD’s budget and for those funds to be redirected to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, public schools, and the non-police crisis response teams. He advocates for eliminating entire units within the NYPD that he views as particularly harmful, such as the Strategic Response Group, a heavily armored unit often deployed to protests and low-income neighborhoods. His vision involves creating a new ecosystem of public safety, where a mental health professional, not a police officer, responds to a person in crisis, and where a youth jobs program, not a gang database, prevents violence.

This position is a key part of his identity as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and is detailed in his public statements and on his official legislative page. While politically contentious, his unwavering commitment to defunding the police demonstrates his fidelity to the abolitionist principles of his base and his willingness to embrace radical solutions to the deep-seated problems of policing and inequality. For Mamdani, defunding is the essential first step in a longer-term project of building a society that invests in life, not death, and that resolves social conflicts through care and resources, not coercion and violence.