As Far-Left Soft-On-Crime Policies Fuel A ‘Reign Of Criminals,’ Some Dems Still Cling To Defunding The Police

Cities Across The Country Set Records For Homicides In 2021

“More than two-thirds of the country’s 40 most populous cities saw more homicides last year than in 2020, according to a CNN analysis of police department data. Ten of those cities recorded more homicides in 2021 than any other year on record. Those are Philadelphia; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; Memphis, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Milwaukee; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tucson, Arizona. Minneapolis tied its previous record number of homicides, with 97 in the years 1997 and 2021. Many cities have seen homicides reach near-record highs in the past year. Chicago police investigated 797 last year, the most since 1996. But more than 800 homicides happened within the city when including expressway shootings, which are investigated by a different agency. Homicides were also up by 12% in Los Angeles from 2020 and 4% in New York.” (“10 Of The Country’s Most Populous Cities Set Homicide Records Last Year,” CNN, 1/04/2022)

• “The rise in homicides -- mostly by gun -- happened all across the country…. These increases are not isolated to any region. One-year increases don’t always portend a significant spike in crime. But almost every major US city saw more homicides in both 2020 and 2021 than in 2019. Homicides rose sharply in the summer of 2020 and have remained at high levels since. According to the 2020 Uniform Crime Report from the FBI, homicides rose 30% from 2019 to 2020, the largest single-year increase the agency has recorded since it began tracking these crimes in the 1960s.” (“10 Of The Country’s Most Populous Cities Set Homicide Records Last Year,” CNN, 1/04/2022)

‘The City Of Louisville Began 2022 With Its Deadliest January On Record’

“The city of Louisville began 2022 with its deadliest January on record, according to Christopher 2X, executive director of Christopher 2X Game Changers. There were 17 homicides in January, which surpasses the total of 16 in January from last year. This was the 24th straight month of double-digit homicides in the city. ‘After two straight years of record-breaking gun violence, sadly we’re starting 2022 with even more gun violence, and more families and kids suffering and traumatized as a result,’ 2X said in a news release. There were 31 people wounded by gunfire in January and last year, there were 583 people injured by gunfire, 2X said. Louisville Metro Police reported 188 homicides in 2021, surpassing the annual record previously set in 2020 of 173.” (“Louisville Begins 2022 With Deadliest January On Record,” WDRB, 2/05/2022)

‘Last Year Saw The Highest Number Of Law Enforcement Officers Who Were Intentionally Killed In The Line Of Duty Since’ 9/11

“Last year saw the highest number of law enforcement officers who were intentionally killed in the line of duty since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an increase that comes as a rise in gun violence and homicides continues across the country. According to preliminary year-end data provided to CNN by the FBI, 73 officers died in felonious killings in the line of duty in 2021. The year marks the highest total recorded by the agency since 1995, excluding the 9/11 attacks…. The 73 felonious deaths reported by the FBI are a 59% increase from 2020’s total of 46, breaking the previous high of 72 felonious killings in 2011. According to the FBI, at least eight police officers also lost their lives in premeditated, ambush-style attacks last year.” (“Intentional Killings Of Law Enforcement Officers Reach 20-Year High, FBI Says,” CNN, 1/13/2022)

• “Among felonious deaths of officers last year, 25 were killed in ‘unprovoked’ attacks through December 27 of last year, according to the FBI. It’s a marked increase from previous years, which usually see the number of officers killed in unprovoked attacks in the low single-digits. In 2020, just two officers were killed in this manner.” (“Intentional Killings Of Law Enforcement Officers Reach 20-Year High, FBI Says,” CNN, 1/13/2022)

‘Carjackings Have Risen Dramatically Over The Past Two Years In Some Of America’s Biggest Cities’

“Carjackings have risen dramatically over the past two years in some of America’s biggest cities. Just outside Chicago, a state senator’s car and other valuables were taken at gunpoint in December, and a group of children, one just 10 years old, carjacked more than a dozen people. A rideshare driver being carjacked shot his attackers earlier this month in Philadelphia. Last March, a 12-year-old in Washington, DC was arrested and charged with four counts of armed carjacking. ‘The majority of it is young joyriders. They’re not keeping the cars. They’re jacking cars to commit another crime, typically more serious robberies or shootings, or joyriding around for the sake of social media purpose and street cred,’ said Christopher Herrmann, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. ‘It’s a disturbing trend.’” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “The number of carjackings quadrupled in New York City over the last four years, according to data released by the NYPD. The city recorded more than 500 carjackings in 2021, up from 328 in 2020, 132 in 2019, and 112 in 2018.” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “Carjackings in Philadelphia nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2021, according to figures released by the city’s police department. They recorded more than 800 last year, up from about 170 in 2015…. In December, Pennsylvania Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D) was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia -- a 19-year-old from Delaware was later arrested for the crime.” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “Already this year, police say there have been 140 carjackings in [Philadelphia] — double the year-to-date total from 2021, and seven times the pace reported at the beginning of 2020. The total number of carjackings last year — 840 — was by far the highest annual total since at least 2017, police statistics show.” (“Carjackings In Philly Are On A Record Pace. Officials Aren’t Sure Why.,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/03/2022)

• “In New Orleans, there were 281 carjackings last year, up from 105 in 2018, the earliest year of available data. The city has also seen a string of carjackings this year, with NOPD reporting 39 as of January 21.” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “More than 1,800 carjackings were reported in Chicago last year, the most of any large city, according to data released by police departments to CNN. Chicago’s 2021 tally was the most on record over the last 20 years. Carjackings had been steadily declining in the city after 2001, hitting a low of 303 in 2014, but began to tick upward before skyrocketing to 1,400 in 2020 following the onset of the pandemic. Last year saw more than five times as many carjackings as in 2014…. ‘It is lawless,’ said Raymond Lopez, an alderman for Chicago’s 15th Ward. ‘It doesn’t feel lawless. It is.’ Chicago’s clearance rate for carjackings is low, and has further declined during the pandemic. According to the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab, only 11% of carjacking offenses resulted in an arrest in 2020, down from 20% in 2019. Just 4.5% of offenses resulted in charges approved by the State Attorney’s Office.” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “Both the District [of Columbia] and [Prince George’s County, Maryland] have seen an extraordinary uptick in carjackings since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. In 2019, police in the District recorded 142 carjackings and Prince George’s reported 100. But last year, those totals had spiked to 426 in D.C. and 394 in the county. One month into 2022 and the trend is continuing, police said. Officials said Wednesday their primary concern remains the number of juveniles — kids 17 and under — who are being arrested for these crimes. In 2021, 85 of the 132 carjacking arrests in the District, and 86 of the 152 arrests in the county, were juveniles.” (“As Carjackings Spike In D.C. And Prince George’s, Officials Focus On Youths,” The Washington Post, 2/02/2022)

• “A carjacking occurs every 42 hours in the Louisville metro area, and according to LMPD data, there [were] at least 209 carjackings in Louisville [by the end of October, 2021].” (“Data Shows A Carjacking Happens In Louisville Every 42 Hours,” WAVE 3, 10/27/2021)

‘Shoplifting Is Surging Across America’ As Retailers ‘Battle Organized Crime Rings’

“Retailers have always been vulnerable to shoplifting. But the emergence of coordinated and organized robberies at high-value stores, even during shopping hours, has the industry on edge. In November, a group of 14 individuals barged into a Louis Vuitton store in Oakbrook, Illinois, while customers were inside and audaciously drove away with a $100,000 worth of merchandise. The entire incident was caught on the store’s surveillance video. That same month, a group of at least 18 people broke into a closed Nordstrom store at LA’s famous high-end The Grove shopping mall using a sledgehammer and an electric bicycle. They made off with several thousand dollars in merchandise. And on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, as many as 30 people robbed a Best Buy in Minneapolis. The crime typically involves groups of people targeting stores that carry higher-value items like electronics, designer handbags and designer clothing, who resell the merchandise in secondary marketplaces, such as eBay, OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace or even back into the legitimate supply chain.” (“Shoplifting Is Surging Across America With Dangerous And Costly Consequences,” CNN, 1/07/2022)

• “Retailers in California and in cities elsewhere around the U.S., including Chicago and Minneapolis, have recently been victimized by large-scale thefts when groups of people show up in groups for mass shoplifting events or to enter stores and smash and grab from display cases. Solo shoplifters and retail thieves have also been a growing problem for California retailers, who have said the criminals face little if any consequences after they are caught.” (“‘Organized Retail Mobs,’ Guns And Drugs: Newsom Unveils $300M Plan To Combat Crime,” The Associated Press, 12/17/2021)

• “Retailers are spending millions a year to battle organized crime rings that steal from their stores in bulk and then peddle the goods online, often on Amazon.com Inc.’s retail platform, according to retail investigators, law-enforcement officers and court documents. It is a menace that has been supercharged by the pandemic and the rapid growth of online commerce that has accompanied it.” (“Ben Dugan Works for CVS. His Job Is Battling a $45 Billion Crime Spree.,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/01/2021)

‘It’s Like The Perfect Storm, Where All These Soft On Crime Policies Have Come To A Head During This Pandemic’

“Shifting attitudes toward the juvenile justice system, and Covid-related restrictions aimed at reducing the number of people in county jails or juvenile facilities, has created a situation where accused criminals who’d normally be held in custody are free while awaiting trial, experts told CNN. That’s created a ‘revolving door’ situation where ‘some were emboldened to be repeat offenders,’ said Jeffrey Norman, chief of the Milwaukee Police Department. ‘We saw this on a higher level in 2020 and 2021.’” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

“In Chicago, [Raymond] Lopez [alderman for Chicago’s 15^th ward] said people arrested and sent home with electronic monitoring sometimes reoffend while awaiting trial for something they’ve been arrested for. ‘It’s like the perfect storm, where all these soft on crime policies have come to a head during this pandemic,’ he told CNN…. Lopez said the choice to not take crime seriously among young teens will have consequences years later when they age out of the juvenile justice system. ‘When you have carjackers who are 15 on their third car, that’s a problem,’ he said.” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

• “The Crime Lab’s study of Chicago’s carjackings found that almost half of all carjacking arrestees in Chicago in 2020 were under 18. Between 2019 and 2020, there was a 104% increase in the number of arrestees who were minors. For many of them, it was their first contact with the criminal justice system, according to [Kim] Smith [the director of programs at University of Chicago’s Crime Lab].” (“‘It’s A Disturbing Trend.’ Cities See Large Increases In Carjackings During Pandemic,” CNN, 1/23/2022)

“[T]he [police] chiefs [of Washington, DC and Prince George’s County] vocalized a shared frustration they said their officers are seeing: some of the kids they are arresting are ‘repeat offenders’ who don’t seem deterred by the potential consequences of their actions. The chiefs questioned why young offenders are being released back into the community and whether they are getting the supervision and resources to stop them from carjacking again.” (“As Carjackings Spike In D.C. And Prince George’s, Officials Focus On Youths,” The Washington Post, 2/02/2022)

Mayors Of Major Cities Have Had Enough: ‘We’re Dealing With A Sea Of Violence,’ ‘It’s Time [For] The Reign Of Criminals … To Come To An End’

NEW YORK MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: “I just believe what we just heard that happened in Chicago and across our entire country, it is really the symbol of where we are as a country. Our babies are in a dangerous environment and lawmakers are not responding with the level of urgency that I believe we ought to do -- this chronic disease of violence that’s impacting our country…. [T]he message I’m sending to New Yorkers … that we’re dealing with a sea of violence and there are many rivers that are feeding that sea. And one of them is using the proper police tactics to continue to build a dam on that part of this aspect of it.” (CNN’s “New Day,” 1/25/2022)

• MAYOR ADAMS: “We must deal with a city, and cities where we’re telling police officers that people can walk in stores, steal items off the shelves and no one is going to prosecute them, where you can do fare evasion in a city and no one is going to prosecute, where you can pour water over the head of a police officer and the person who did that is not going to be held accountable for that…. We must make sure we don’t continue to put dangerous people back on the street, and continue the flow of guns in our cities.” (CNN’s “New Day,” 1/25/2022)

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR LONDON BREED: “It’s time the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end… And it comes to an end when we take the steps to more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerate of all the bullshit that has destroyed our city.” (“UPDATE: SF Mayor London Breed Announces Crime Crackdown; ‘Less Tolerant Of All The Bulls–t That Has Destroyed Our City,’” KPIX 5, 12/15/2021)

FORMER PHILADELPHIA MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER: “District Attorney Larry Krasner’s recent remarks about whether we are experiencing a crime crisis are some of the worst, most ignorant, and most insulting comments I have ever heard spoken by an elected official. At a [December 6^th] press briefing, Krasner told reporters: ‘We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence.’ It takes a certain audacity of ignorance and white privilege to say that right now. As of [December 6^th], 521 people, souls, spirits have been vanquished, eliminated, murdered in our City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, the most since 1960. I have to wonder what kind of messed up world of white wokeness Krasner is living in to have so little regard for human lives lost, many of them Black and brown, while he advances his own national profile as a progressive district attorney…. As someone who has lived the experience of a Black man in Philadelphia and worked at the highest level of city government, I see that police and judges are trying to keep Philadelphians safe, but Krasner is not. No matter what he says, this city is experiencing a crisis of violence and murder. If he can’t see that, he is unfit to serve the residents of Philadelphia.” (Michael Nutter, Op-Ed, “Larry Krasner Owes An Apology To The 521 Families Of Philly’s Homicide Victims,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/07/2021)

But Far Left Democrats In Congress Are STILL Calling For Defunding The Police

“Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) says she’s not going to stop using the slogan ‘defund the police’ ahead of this fall’s midterms — even though some of her colleagues have made that request.” (“Rep. Cori Bush Isn’t Backing Down On ‘Defund The Police’ Slogan,” Axios, 2/08/2022)

• REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): “‘Defund the police’ is not the problem.” (“Rep. Cori Bush Isn’t Backing Down On ‘Defund The Police’ Slogan,” Axios, 2/08/2022)

• REP. BUSH: “My colleagues keep telling us to wait. They keep telling us defunding the police and investing in communities won’t work. Well their policies keep ending up with police murdering Black people. Enough patronizing. Listen to the movements that are telling you how to save lives.” (Rep. Bush, @CoriBush, Twitter, 2/05/2022)

FLASHBACK: ‘Defunding The Police Has To Happen,’ ‘No More Policing,’ ‘We Can’t Reform This’

REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): “I’m going to make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life and I have too much work to do. There are too many people that need help right now for me to allow that. So if I end up spending $200,000, if I spend 10, 10, 10 more dollars on it, you know what, I get to be here to do the work. So suck it up and defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we’re trying to save lives.” (“Cori Bush Explains Her Position On ‘Defund The Police’ While Paying For Private Security. Her Full Response,” CBS News 08/06/2021)

• REP. BUSH: “Defunding the police isn’t radical, it’s real.” (Rep. Bush, @CoriBush, Twitter, 1/27/2021)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): “Defunding police means defunding police.” (“Ocasio-Cortez Dismisses Proposed $1B Cut: ‘Defunding Police Means Defunding Police’,” The Hill, 6/30/2020)

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): “I will never stop saying, ‘Not only do we need to disinvest from police but we need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.’” (“‘Defund The Police’ Movement Hits Semantics Roadblock,” The Hill, 6/14/2020)

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): “… Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist. ... I am done with those who condone government funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.” (Rep. Tlaib, @RashidaTlaib, Twitter, 4/12/2021)

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): “From slave patrols to traffic stops. We can’t reform this.” (Rep. Pressley, @AyannaPressley, Twitter, 4/12/2021)

REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): “Defunding the police is about rebuilding our country in the image of our people …” (Rep. Bowman, @JamaalBowmanNY, Twitter, 2/22/2021)