Progressives thought they could defund the police without increasing crime, but now we are in a brutal crime wave that is disproportionately hurting the people progressives said they wanted to protect
Brilliant piece by @lwoodhouse
leightonwoodhouse.substack.com/p/defund-the-p…
I took my safety for granted and viewed law-and-order as a "right wing" issue until I spent time in places where law-and-order had broken down. I came to understand the horrors that resulted, including rape and murder and the daily stress of just trying to survive.
"The push to defund the police has always been more popular in higher income areas... where crime and violence are more of an abstraction... But now...the crime wave is hitting affluent neighborhoods, too"
Outstanding summary of how "defund the police" is a "luxury belief":
“In 2020 budget votes, advocacy groups won over $840m in direct cuts from US police departments”
theguardian.com/us-news/2021/m…
And, yes, after crime spiked, cities restored much of what they had cut.
But police got the message, took early retirements, or just quit, rather than be demonized.
The result of delegitimizing cops is mass police shortages & one of the worst crime waves in American history
Progressive cities like Oakland did not restore full funding and are suffering a terrible homicide spike
Moreover, the view that demonized and demoralized police withdrew, and criminals were emboldened, by anti-police protests, resulting in more homicides and other crimes, is today the mainstream one
michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-violent-…
It astonishes me that the there are still people on this web site claiming crime is not increasing. They are in a bubble. They should learn to use this app called “Google News.” And they should learn to pay close attention to homicides, the emperor of all crimes
There are always many causes of any phenomemon but there is also broad agreement that a) lack of police, b) police withdrawal, and c) criminal emboldenment are the major factors resulting in rising homicides
abcnews.go.com/US/12-major-us…
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