We need the police.

Recent weeks have brought spasms of outrage in the United States, over police brutality, over racism, over lingering symbols of the Confederacy, and this period has seen statues to one-time heroes including Columbus being taken down.

There is unrest in the land, largely sparked by the terrible public death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It’s not assuaged when police in Buffalo knock down a protester, or when police in Atlanta shoot in the back a man fleeing from a DUI arrest, or when a police SUV in Richmond runs right through a crowd of protesters.

One phrase that has popped up is “defund the police.” Is that the answer? Must one arm of our civil society be abolished in order to have a better nation?

Obviously the answer is “no,” and cooler heads will eventually prevail. We need the police, and we need the police to be held responsible when they err.

At the same time, police have too much on their plates. We expect them to be social workers, mental...