Liberal cities are now grappling with the heartbreaking consequences of the dangerous “defund the police” movement.
Nearly 10 months after violent protests engulfed Portland and politicians cut millions of dollars from the city’s police budget, residents are paying with their lives. The effort was called “reimagining public safety,” but it doesn’t take much imagination to predict what happened next: Violence skyrocketed through 2020, and it’s still rising. Last year, Portland saw nearly 900 shootings—more than twice as many as 2019—and there have been close to 200 this year alone.
In Minneapolis, anti-police rhetoric, police resignations, and police funding cuts have turned the city into a “war zone”—where barbed wire and plywood barricade buildings, and people are terrified to step foot downtown. It’s not complicated. Fewer police = more crime and devastation for families.
→ Read more: As violence surges, some question Portland axing police unit (Washington Post)
→ Read more: After ‘defunding the police,’ NYC first lady pleads for citizens to intervene in violent crimes as assaults spike (Daily Wire)
