The Non-Shocking Result Of ‘Defund The Police’

Remember the summer of 2020 and what a mess it was. The kickoff crime wave began with the horrendous death of George Floyd. The crime spree and massive protests made no sense. There was nobody who disagreed that the atrocities of Floyd’s death were horrendous and those responsible should be held accountable.  We all agreed on something, which is unusual, and yet there were those who started a movement which has destroyed communities all over the country.

The “Defund the Police” movement started as a result and it has been lead by “Black Lives Matter.” Liberals everywhere were declaring that the police were the problem and we should “rethink” policing. Many cities across the country followed through with those policies. Now we are seeing the results.

According to FBI statistics, the murder rate rose by nearly 30% in 2020, more than any time in our history. This is the largest rise in murder rates, by far, since the FBI began compiling records.

More than 20 major cities reduced their police budgets. The calls for reductions are nothing new. Activists have been working hard to reduce police funding for a number of years. For years advocacy groups have been protesting at city council meetings. Their cries were, “jobs not jails”, “books not bars”, etc. The arguments were that police budgets should be reduced and those funds should be used instead to fund programs that address the root causes of poverty and crime. 

Officials never really paid a lot of attention. The Floyd incident elevated these demands to a new level.  Mayors and city councils started listening and the funding cuts started. Approximately $850 million was cut from police budgets.

You know what happened next. Crime skyrocketed and is continuing. Surprise, Surprise.

In Milwaukee where the Floyd incident took place, the crime wave is staggering. The homicide rate rose by 70.5% in 2020. A statistic that is most unusual is that 80.5% of the victims were unknown to the perpetrators. Normally, homicide victims are known to the criminal.

This same trend was seen nationwide. Months of lawlessness on our streets, after the Floyd death, continued to fester and the results are devastating to our communities. 

Dozens of states opened wide the prison doors and released thousands of prisoners in an effort to “stop the spread” of COVID. The national recidivism rate is 50% within 3 years. I’m sure that didn’t help the rise in crime rates. 

Many cities initiated “no cash bail” or “catch and release”. So this created a revolving door with offenders released back to the streets to offend over and over. You may have seen where the criminal, who mowed down pedestrians and participants in a Christmas parade, was a repeat offender who had just been released, without bail.

In San Francisco, larceny and theft crimes are up 88% and overall crime is up 52%. Similar numbers are found everywhere in large cities. This has been devastating to the, once beautiful, tourist city of San Francisco.

Now there’s a new problem in the crime industry that is taking off. These “Flash Mob” robberies  are happening in upscale retail establishments around the country. An organized mob crashes through an establishment and takes what they want. These are being referred to as “smash and grab”. Many of these robberies are taking place while the store is open and is extremely frightening to employees. These mobs coordinate, presumably on social media, arm themselves with weapons and start “smashing and grabbing.” That’s not going to help with labor shortages if people are afraid to go to work.

The fact that police, in many of these cities, stopped investigating shoplifting and burglary crimes has opened the door wide for criminals. The FBI doesn’t collect data on these kinds of crimes so very little is known about how they’re organized or who the suspects are. Of course with everyone wearing masks, it’s not easy to identify these culprits.

Now many of these same cities, that slashed police funding, are reinstating those dollars to their police units. As crime continued to rise and police were not available to take calls, even the most avid “defunders” had to realize the truth. 

The saddest part of this entire saga is the fact that those public safety officers, who put their lives on the line everyday, have suffered. The disrespect and violence that has been directed at these brave officers is heartbreaking. No surprise that police officers have been retiring and finding new careers in droves. A recent study shows that 90% of police agencies are understaffed.

I hope this nonsense will soon be over. Liberals got their way, in many places, and as usual their idea was a complete failure. Government has a duty to keep our communities safe. Isn’t it amazing that the government meddles in every facet of our life but neglects the biggest responsibility of all?