Highlights
Reduced police budgets are correlated with increased homicides and violent crime.
National violence is increasing per the US Department of Justice.
In nine of the cities that made the most dramatic cuts to police department budgets, homicides rose by nearly 68%.
Somehow, someway, society needs to own this issue and create solutions before it’s too late.
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of directing award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.
Article
Homicides and other forms of violent crime are increasing substantially. Per Gallup, violence has tripled. Fear of crime and firearm sales are at record levels. People are leaving cities, Crime in The US.
Per FBI preliminary statistics for 2020, there was a 25 percent increase in homicides, overall violent crime increased by 3.3 percent, and aggravated assaults increased by 10.5 percent, Violent Crime Increases in 2020.
Major American cities saw a 33% increase in homicides last year as a pandemic swept across the country, millions of people joined protests against racial injustice and police brutality, and the economy collapsed under the weight of the pandemic — a crime surge that has continued into the first quarter of this year, Rising Urban Homicides-CNN.
News reports suggest that the cities where protests and or riots have occurred are being hit the hardest, Governing.Com.
It’s African American communities that are bearing the brunt of the violence, NBC News.
There were 722 more homicides in nine U.S. cities last year, according to police data. More than 85% of the increase was in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, The Marshall Project.
The inevitable question is why? The pandemic plays a role when analyzing previous major disruptions, Explaining Violence. But reductions in police funding and the unwillingness of many cops to engage in proactive policing because of relentless negative publicity plays a role.
Per the article below, several European countries are recording lower homicide rates than the US.
Proactive policing is one of a few strategies that have the ability to reduce crime.
Washington Times (quotes rearranged for brevity)
Last year’s hefty spike in homicides is extending into 2021, with cities that slashed police budgets seeing some of the largest upticks, according to an analysis of data by The Washington Times.
A review of police data and public reporting found that in the first three months of 2021, the homicide rate in 20 major cities across the country rose by 28% from the same period last year.
In nine of the cities that made the most dramatic cuts to police department budgets, homicides rose by nearly 68%. Some of those cities are now backtracking, seeking ways to boost departments’ coffers.
Portland, Oregon’s, homicide rate soared a staggering 1,900% in 2021, with 20 killings, compared with one during the first three months of 2020. The city carved $16 million, or 7%, out of its police budget last year.
Austin, Texas, cut $20 million, or 23%, from its department budget and shifted another $80 million by moving certain services to other departments. Police have reported 19 homicides this year, compared with 14 during the same period last year — a 35% rise.
Philadelphia reduced police funding by 5%, or $33 million, and saw homicides climb 25% to 120 in early 2021 from 96 during the same period last year.
In Minneapolis, there have been 19 homicides this year, a 46% jump from the 13 in the first quarter of 2020. The city council has shrunk its department’s budget by more than $9 million, or 5%.
The Los Angeles City Council in July voted to slash $150 million, or 2%, from the police budget. In November, voters approved a measure to devote 10% of the city’s budget to nonpolice public safety measures.
Last week — less than a year after the budget cuts — Los Angeles County officials voted to boost police funding by $36 million. The 12-0 vote included a “yea” from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a major advocate of defunding the police.
In the first three months of 2021, the city saw 77 homicides, up from 60 during the same period in 2020, a 28% uptick.
New York’s City Council last year slashed $1 billion, or 2%, from the police budget, allocating more than half of the money to other agencies such as the Department of Education and the Department of Homeless Services.
A casualty of the cuts was a 600-officer plainclothes anti-crime unit, which responded to violent crimes. This year, New York has recorded 84 homicides, up 13% from 74 during the first three months of 2020.
Analysts say chopping police department budgets has led to a reduction in so-called proactive policing, an effort by officers to seek out and prevent crime before it happens.
The European Experience
Several European countries, which have been ravaged by the pandemic, have reported drops in violent crime.
Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have all recorded lower homicide rates than the U.S. this year, according to data from the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime.
USA Today
An opinion article in USA Today repeats the data presented above, USA Today.
It seconds my observations about proactive policing and documents the decline in arrests.
Conclusions
We have a crisis of growing violence in the United States and it’s hitting cities and minority communities hard.
Violence is like COVID or cancer, it destroys everything it touches. Those affected bear a heavy burden. Data exists showing that people living in high-crime communities suffer from significant fear and PTSD. Economic development stalls. Overall community well-being deteriorates.
I understand the debate over police tactics but communities are going to have to figure this out for themselves. Some level of proactivity on the part of law enforcement needs to happen. For that to occur, cops will need community support.
But with defunding, unrelenting criticism, and the retraction of provisions to protect well-intended police officers who make mistakes, I fear that violence will continue to grow to the point of paralyzing cities.
There are endless media accounts of police officers leaving the profession. Police recruitment is down by 63 percent.
I assume that it’s the reason the White House is putting the creation of a national police oversight commission on hold, nixing a campaign pledge made by President Joe Biden to establish one within his first 100 days, reports Politico. The President needs cops if it ever hopes to create improved prosperity in high-crime communities.
Violence affects everyone. If the economic prosperity of cities continues to decline as the pandemic recedes, we all suffer.
Somehow, someway, society needs to own this issue and create solutions before it’s too late.
See More
See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.
Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.
US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.
National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.
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