Since May Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists have demanded elected officials “Defund the Police.” Many Democratic-controlled cities followed through with these leftist demands. Today they are experiencing a surge in violent crimes.
Gee, why would that be? Do you wonder about the change?
Let’s visit some cities and see what we can find out. Conservative Review’s Mia Cathell did the work recounted here.
Portland
In June, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler spearheaded an effort to increase police accountability. He was all about reinvest in black and brown communities. Lots of happy buzz words there. Wheeler proposed over $7 million should be redirected away from the Portland Police Bureau. He supported wealth transfer to communities of color. Translation “Defund the Police.”
His “Police Reform Action Plan” sought to dissolve the city’s Gun Violence Reduction Team. It was time to “fundamentally re-shape” law enforcement’s approach to shooting prevention. So how did that work out?
Well, since you asked; the city reported year-to-date shootings rose 10.8% by May. The months of June, July, August, and September suffered 96.8%, 186.1%, 195.1%, and 243.8% hikes respectively. That would be a statistically significant change.
Portland’s recently established Red House Autonomous Zone (RHAZ) on North Mississippi Avenue almost immediately experienced an increase in shootings. Authorities recovered a stockpile of guns during the Dec. 8 morning raid. All charges levelled against every individual arrested at the scene were dropped by the progressive district attorney. Surely this will reduce violent crime in Portland moving forward. Portland must surely be an outlier… right?
New York
The country’s largest city, New York, announced $1 billion in cuts to the New York Police Department’s spending in late June. The city slashed two of the NYPD’s four training classes. The move reduced headcount by nearly 2,000 uniform officers. Translation “Defund the Police.”
Accordingly the New York City Council press release detailed Speaker Corey Johnson, Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm, and Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Vanessa Gibson’s agreement on the city’s fiscal year 2021 budget: “This was a hard-fought battle, which marks the beginning of the Council’s efforts to not only limit the size and scope of the NYPD, but also reimagine how we structure criminal justice and public safety in this city,”
The city tossed $1.8 million toward LGBTQ curriculum at the Department of Education. It also moved $1.4 million for LGBTQ senior services in every borough. New York then moved $1.9 million for Trans Equity Programs. I feel safer already, don’t you?
That same month, the number of citywide shooting incidents increased by 130%since the previous year. Then in July and August, shootings rose sharply, reaching 177% and 166% year-over-year increases respectively. Maybe not as good a result as we had hoped for… Many said “This help is killing me.”
We normally see a 30% increase in shootings in the summer,” former NYPD crime analyst supervisor Christopher Herrmann told Insider. “This year it was a 150%, 180% increase. It was just out of control.”
Seattle
Then there was Seattle. In August, the Seattle City Council voted to axe its police budget by 14% for the remainder of 2020 according to KOMO News. Only one of the eight council members voted against the proposal. The no vote was arguing that the cuts did not go far enough. Translation “Defund the Police.” Let’s see how it is working out.
The measure served to eliminate 100 officers. This prompted Police Chief Carmen Best to resign effective Sept. 2. The city’s top law enforcement official declared her retirement decision just hours after the city council implemented its first substantive cuts to the department’s budget. The cuts included the salaries of Best and department executives.
Best was the first black woman to lead the Seattle Police Department and spent 28 years serving the city’s police force. “It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out,” she told reporters.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about the respect,” reiterated Mayor Jenny Durkan, who noted that the council chose not to slash the salaries of any other municipal department heads or its own staff.
Los Angeles
And then there was Los Angeles. In June, the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area approved a $150 million cut to the Los Angeles Police Department for the next fiscal year. Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris applauded the move, backing Mayor Eric Garcetti. Translation “Defund the Police.”
When asked on ABC’s “Good Morning America” whether or not if America needs fewer police on the streets right now, Harris answered: “We need to recognize that if you invest in communities, they will be healthy, they will be strong, and we won’t have a need for militarization of police.”
Compared to last year, shootings in Los Angeles are up by 34.1%, murder is up by nearly 30%, and aggravated assault is up by 8.3%, according to the LAPD’s most recent crime statistics.
Austin
Texas always hates to be left out so what happened in Austin. The Austin City Council voted unanimously to slash its police department budget by $150 million. It took 34% of its $434 million budget in August. Translation “Defund the Police.”
Austin added $100,000 to abortion funding to ensure “abortion access.” So police bad … eugenics good. Strong reasoning there Austin. The plan reinvested $21 million into mental health response, supportive housing, and victim services.
Shortly after, the city watched its murder rate climb in comparison to previous years. Homicides grew by 40% in September compared to the same point in 2019. According to the Austin Police Department chief’s monthly report in October, the incline leaped to 54%.
Supporters assert it is too early to assume if the trends will stand the test of time. Austin also saw increased rates of burglary, aggravated assault, and statutory rape, among other serious crimes.
Wrapping it up
Who knows where this trend is going. But where ever the police are defunded the crime rate responds. The fact the two seem to have an inverse relationship seems to befuddle everyone on the Left. The response from the left seems to be we like more violent crime. We should raise taxes. If you disagree you are a racist, bigot homophobe. Well, call me whatever you like. But it is time to put the criminals behind bars and end the nonsense.