One of the leading battle cries of the Black Lives Matter movement was “defund the police.”
Leftist politicians went along with it until they discovered it was a political loser – especially the resulting surging crime rates.
Now Black Lives Matter is starting to come back to haunt these blue cities.
Law and order under President Biden
Under President Joe Biden’s watch, America is experiencing a massive surge in crime, including violent crime.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the murder rate in the United States spiked nearly 30% in 2020.
Meanwhile, the rate of assaults jumped 10%.
There are three main reasons.
First, George Soros-backed District Attorneys and prosecutors have instituted criminal-friendly policies like cashless bail, or are ignoring the rule of law outright.
Second, some of the most “woke” municipalities have cut back on funding, or added new strenuous regulations to their police departments.
And finally, the Black Lives Matter movements’ constant pressure and negative attention on police officers led many to leave the force.
And now several major American cities are experiencing crisis-level police shortages – leaving residents less safe.
Even the corporate-controlled press is starting to acknowledge the crime wave in America.
The Associated Press did a little digging, comparing rising crime rates in cities to rapidly declining numbers of cops.
Blue cities haven’t been backing the blue
According to the AP, Los Angeles is down 650 police officers since 2019.
In an effort to adjust, the department has all-but shut down its animal cruelty unit and downsized its human trafficking, narcotics, and gun details.
They’re also now responding to homeless complaints – a massive issue in LA – 80% less than they did in 2019.
Seattle is so short-handed with cops, the city is having to put up $2,000,000 in taxpayer money to attract new recruits.
In Portland, unarmed “public support specialists” – not cops – are handling crimes like vehicle break-ins and bike thefts.
The City of Roses historically averages 30 homicides per year.
However, in 2020, there were 50.
In 2021, Portland experienced 89 murders.
And so far this year, there have been 800 shootings in Portland.
The shortage of police is a sprawling problem.
In the nearby Portland suburb of Gresham, Oregon, the small community has lost 16 officers over the course of 10 months who no longer want to be the subject of public ridicule for simply serving and protecting.
Gresham now has just eight officers patrolling the community of 115,000 residents.
In fact, the Police Chief in Gresham told the AP the department can only currently respond to calls for murder, child abuse, and sex crimes.
The AP points out, other cities, like Philadelphia and many more, are shifting veteran officers to patrol, breaking up specialized teams built over decades in order to keep up with 911 calls.
The City of Brotherly Love is down 550 officers, with another 860 currently on medical leave or restricted duty.
Among the many problems that’s causing Philadelphia residents, more than 30,000 complaints about abandoned cars that have been waitlisted due to lack of resources.
Cities can’t keep up
And the AP points out in its report, that while some departments, like Seattle, are increasing recruitment efforts, the number of cadets being sworn in aren’t keeping pace with how quickly veteran officers are fleeing the force.
And it’s all a product of the left-wing policies these municipalities have embraced.
