“Defund the police” has become a rallying cry for the many activists protesting police brutality. The phrase itself has been used for decades and pushes for local governments to divest funds from police departments and reallocate them to other public services.

The idea of defunding the police comes from the belief that investing more in communities would decrease crime rates by addressing societal issues such as homelessness, mental illness and poverty. However, there are many misconceptions associated with the phrase.

The Chronicle spoke with Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) and Ashley Munson, an activist and lead organizer for March for US 2020, to better understand what defunding the police really means and what it would look like with the Chicago Police Department.