CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- One south suburban police chief said he supports demands during recent protests to defund police, but he said there has to be enough money left over to protect communities.
Harvey Police Chief Robert Collins said he believes diverting police funding to such things as social and mental health services, would reduce the needs of his officers to do such roles, because of the lack of such programs.
"So if we can take funding, and fund those programs, such as social services or mental health awareness, those are areas that really need attention," he said.
He said it would help the community and allow his officers to focus more on the duties they were hired to perform.
Collins said the only concern he has is diverting too much money away from police for them to have the resources they need to respond to crimes and provide other safety services.
"Running a police department, there are costs involved, and things don't become less expensive as time goes on. Things become more expensive with increased salaries, with the cost of equipement, the cost of squad cars. The cost of things go up, and sometimes the dollars run out," he said.