There is a need for cops. But they shouldn't be relied on for every situation that exists. Police officers are so disproportionately trained to defend themselves that they tackle every problem like it's a nail due to the fact they were only given a hammer during training.
If we mitigate the roots of society's problems that are responsible for the crimes that are responsible for most police calls (poverty, drug abuse, unemployment, lack of education), then we can reserve the police for the truly wretched members of society that actively go out of their way to cause harm, as opposed to every single instance of someone likely going outside the legal means of making income to survive. It would also allow us to change the format of who we have as officers, since they will know they are only needed for severe cases, as lower level cases are handled by people trained to deal with lower level crises. It'd also discourage potential gypsy cops from entering the service since they know they actually will have to be heroes instead of lucking into an opportunity.