Democrats Refuse To Protect Americans From A Nationwide Crime Surge

Last Week, Senate Republicans Introduced The Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act To Crack Down On The Surge In Crime In The United States

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member: “Crime is skyrocketing in communities across the country. Carjackings, homicides, attacks on law enforcement are all up. We have a duty to ensure that penalties for federal offenses serve as a deterrent and that any ambiguity from split court decisions is rectified so that perpetrators can be held accountable. This bill includes a number of small fixes that will go a long way in improving justice and preventing future crimes.  Unfortunately, we don’t yet have bipartisan support to advance these modest, but meaningful, reforms. American communities are suffering under a scourge of lawlessness, so I hope we get some cooperation soon and I’ll keep reaching across the aisle to get it.” (Sen. Grassley, Press Release, 7/27/2022)

“Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), today led 23 Republican colleagues in introducing a broad package to clarify and strengthen violent crime laws related to homicide, bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and other offenses. The Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act resolves discrepancies brought on by conflicting court decisions and clarifies congressional intent regarding crimes of violence and their respective penalties. Despite an ongoing crime wave, no Democrats have agreed to cosponsor the fixes.” (Sen. Grassley, Press Release, 7/27/2022)

• “Along with Grassley, the bill is cosponsored by Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), James Risch (R-Idaho), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).” (Sen. Grassley, Press Release, 7/27/2022)

Homicides Continue To Plague American Cities As Police Departments Struggle With Staffing, Funding, And The Fallout Of The Defund The Police Movement

LOUISVILLE, KY: “Louisville is nearing triple-digit homicides for the third consecutive year midway through 2022. Louisville Metro Police have reported 85 homicides in the first six months of the year. Fifteen homicides were reported in June, the fourth straight month the city has reached double-digit homicides. Community activist Christopher 2X, who leads local nonprofit Christopher 2X Game Changers, said there have been 86 homicides thus far in 2022. ‘Unfortunately, we are reaching 100 homicides again in 2022, for the third straight year and it is just hard to believe,’ 2X said in a news release…. Last year, 188 homicides were reported, 24 of whom were children ages 17 and younger. That set a record for homicides in a single year, after 173 homicides were reported in 2020. 2X said 583 people were wounded by gunfire last year.” (“Louisville Nears Triple-Digit Homicides For Third Consecutive Year,” WDRB, 7/02/2022)

LOS ANGELES, CA: “Halfway through the year, murders in Los Angeles are surging on a wave of gun violence, following last year’s spike in crime. The city saw 172 homicides through June 18, a 5.5% increase from the same period last year, and a 35% jump from the first half of 2020, according to Los Angeles Police Department data. Four more murders were registered in the past week, Los Angeles Police Department police chief Michel Moore at the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday. Overall, violent crime is up about 8% as of last week in the US’s second-largest city. ‘Armed robberies continue to be a problem, at mini marts, gas station and liquor stores,’ Moore said at a press briefing…. The city recorded 397 murders total in 2021, the highest annual count in 15 years. In 293 of the cases, a firearm was used, according to an analysis by Crosstown, which tracks data across Los Angeles neighborhoods. This year, the number of shooting victims has risen 55% compared with the first half of 2020, the latest police data show.” (“Los Angeles Murders Are Up 35% in Two Years as Gun Violence Surges,” Bloomberg News, 6/28/2022)

DENVER, CO: “2022 has been a violent year in metro Denver. One major area of concern is the rising number of murders. There have been 55 murders in Denver this year, 10% more than this time last year, which had the most murders in Denver since at least 1981. It’s a similar story in Aurora. Last year, the city had 44 murders, the most since at least 2011. This year, there have already been 28 murder victims, nearly 50% more than the same time last year. Metro State professor Stacey Hervey said the reasons for the rise in murders this year are varied, and she doesn’t see it getting better anytime soon. ‘We have a large juvenile population. Juvenile populations tend to drive the crime rate in big cities, and then we have a huge problem with fentanyl and opioids all across the country, but especially in Denver,’ Hervey said.” (“Murder Rates Rising In Metro Denver,” 9News Denver, 7/25/2022)

WASHINGTON STATE: “The Crime in Washington 2021 report was released Wednesday amid calls from local communities to their local leaders to more urgently address rising crime rates. The report — which compiles data from 232 state, county, municipal and tribal agencies — is designed to give residents information on what is happening in their communities. It covers a wide variety of crime, an issue people living in Seattle say is getting out of hand. According to the report, violent crimes and murders increased throughout the state. There were 325 murders in 2021, an increase of 5.9 percent since 2020. That is the highest number of murders recorded since the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) began collecting data in 1980, according to the report…. According to the association, last year crimes against people jumped up 4.1 percent from the previous year. The state reported an all-time high of 325 murders, up 5.9 percent, and 592 hate crimes were reported, a 26 percent jump.” (“Violent Crimes, Murders Jumped In Washington State In 2021, New Report Finds,” KOMO News, 7/20/2022)

• “[Over the July 16^th-17^th] weekend more than 50 shots rang out near a Capitol Hill nightclub. The Seattle Police Department’s crime dashboard shows gun violence in the neighborhood has more than tripled in the first half of 2022 compared to this time last year. Tacoma is seeing a similar trend.” (“Violent Crimes, Murders Jumped In Washington State In 2021, New Report Finds,” KOMO News, 7/20/2022)

• “According to the report, the number of commissioned officers in Washington state in 2021 was 10,736, a net loss of 495 from 2020. Many law enforcement agencies across the state are grappling with a staffing crisis by not having enough officers. The shortage has had a huge impact on response times even as local agencies have had to confront rising numbers of murders, which are at an all-time high. And violent crime is up more than 12 percent, the new data shows…. The upswing in crime is occurring even as law enforcement officials have grown increasingly concerned over the hundreds of law enforcement officers leaving, nearly 500 in 2021. ‘When you have that significant number of a net loss in one year, that should not be acceptable to any of us,’ [Steven] Strachan said [executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs] said.” (“Violent Crimes, Murders Jumped In Washington State In 2021, New Report Finds,” KOMO News, 7/20/2022)

JACKSON, MS: “At least three teenagers have been charged with murder in Jackson in less than two weeks. It was the primary focus of Wednesday’s discussion at Ward 3 Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes’ crime summit. An increasing number of teens are finding themselves on the other end of the barrel as well. [In May], a 15-year-old and 18-year-old were killed in two of the 6 homicides that took place in a 72 hour span. ‘I’ve been in law enforcement for nearly 23 years now, and I will honestly say, within the last year or two, it has been the worst I’ve ever seen it regarding our youth,’ Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said.” (“Crime Summit Focuses On Youth Violence After 3 Teens Charged With Murder In Jackson In Less Than Two Weeks,” WLBT, 5/11/2022)

‘Across A Nation That Is Already In The Grips Of A Rise In Violent Crime, Murders Are Going Unsolved At A Historic Pace’

“Across a nation that is already in the grips of a rise in violent crime, murders are going unsolved at a historic pace, a CBS News investigation has found. A review of FBI statistics shows that the murder clearance rate — the share of cases each year that are solved, meaning police make an arrest or close the case due to other reasons — has fallen to its lowest point in more than half a century. ‘It’s a 50-50 coin flip,’ says Thomas Hargrove, who runs the Murder Accountability Project, which tracks unsolved murders nationwide. ‘It’s never been this bad. During the last seven months of 2020, most murders went unsolved. That’s never happened before in America.’ Police are far less likely to solve a murder when the victim is Black or Hispanic, according to CBS News’ analysis. In 2020, the murders of White victims were about 30% more likely to be solved than in cases with Hispanic victims, and about 50% more than when the victims were Black, the data show.” (“A ‘Coin Flip’: Nearly Half Of U.S. Murders Go Unsolved As Cases Rise,” CBS News, 6/29/2022)

• “In 2020, the national homicide clearance rate for white victims was 87%, but for Black victims it was only 59% and 67% for Hispanic victims. In California, homicide clearance rates for those groups, respectively, are 75%, 44%, and 51%. Closer to home in Los Angeles County, 75% of murder cases involving white victims were solved, but when it came to Black and Hispanic victims, those numbers were 23% and 36%, respectively. LAPD solved 67% of murders involving white victims, and 43% for both Black and Hispanic victims.” (“Crime Without Punishment: Unsolved Murders On The Rise, Especially For Black, Hispanic Victims,” CBS Los Angeles, 6/29/2022)

“In dozens of interviews across the country, police and criminal justice experts have offered a range of explanations for these trends. Some factors are evident when visiting communities such as Jackson, Mississippi, which has suffered from one of the nation’s highest murder rates. In that city of about 160,000 people, the police department responded to 153 murders in the past year but has just eight homicide detectives to work that caseload. FBI guidelines suggest homicide detectives should be covering no more than five cases at a time. Police Chief James Davis said his department needs more of everything to keep up with the violence. ‘The whole system is backlogged,’ Davis said. ‘I could use more police officers. I could use more homicide detectives, but if the state is backed up, the court is backed up, we will still have the same problem by developing these cases that we’re already doing.’” (“A ‘Coin Flip’: Nearly Half Of U.S. Murders Go Unsolved As Cases Rise,” CBS News, 6/29/2022)

CHICAGO, IL: “In Chicago, police don’t report clearance data through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, so CBS News submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for Chicago Police Department (CPD) data. In 2020, that data showed, the department’s murder clearance rate was about 44% — 16% less than the national average. But that doesn’t show the whole picture. The CPD data distinguished between cases that were cleared because a suspect was arrested and charged, and those cleared for other reasons. Those cases — so-called ‘exceptionally cleared’ murders — are closed even though a suspect wasn’t prosecuted. Exceptional clearances are supposed to be rare — reserved for unusual cases such as when police identify the suspect, but that suspect is dead, Hargrove said. That’s not the case in Chicago, where, in 2020, half of the homicide cases police closed were exceptionally cleared…. Without those exceptionally cleared cases … CPD’s 2021 murder clearance rate was just 24%, CBS News’ analysis shows.” (“A ‘Coin Flip’: Nearly Half Of U.S. Murders Go Unsolved As Cases Rise,” CBS News, 6/29/2022)

• “In other words, three out of four killers in Chicago are still on the street. This lack of accountability perpetuates the cycle of violence, according to Arthur Lurigio, who teaches criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago. ‘When 70% of homicide homicides don’t lead to an arrest, that’s a critical mass of survivors of homicide victims that are never going to experience the justice that they deserve,’ Lurigio said. ‘So, they bury their child and have to live with it for the rest of their lives, feeling that there’s been no closure on the matter.’” (“A ‘Coin Flip’: Nearly Half Of U.S. Murders Go Unsolved As Cases Rise,” CBS News, 6/29/2022)

LOS ANGELES, CA: “[A]n analysis of FBI crime data by CBS 2 has found that LAPD’s homicide clearance rate has ebbed over the years in a way that is concerning…. [S]tarting in 2013, there was a dramatic decline in Los Angeles. y 2020, the last year of available data, the clearance rate dropped in LA from a 5-year average of around 74% to 55%, representing a 25% drop. LAPD Chief Michel Moore agrees that the drop was ‘absolutely’ concerning. Further out, an examination of Los Angeles County data found its murder clearance rate fell more than 28%. California as a whole fared better, but still saw a drop of about 14%. Nationally, the drop in solved murder cases was less severe, but was still down 11% compared to the previous 5-year average. The most dramatic fall happened in the first month after the May 2020 police murder of George Floyd. For the first time in history, that murder clearance rate dropped below 50%. Moore says he believes a rise in homicides, a decline in resources, the pandemic, and civil unrest are all factors — and a drop in community trust has also been key. ‘The solving of a crime, a homicide particularly, is dependent on community trusting police,’ Moore said.” (“Crime Without Punishment: Unsolved murders on the rise, especially for Black, Hispanic victims,” CBS Los Angeles, 6/29/2022)

PHILADELPHIA, PA: “Philadelphia is struggling to solve its homicides. It’s growing increasingly worse. More and more data, uncovered by CBS News, shows the department over the last couple of years is solving only slightly more than a quarter of murders involving Black victims, compared with figures between 60% and 80% for White victims. Beginning in 2014, homicide numbers began a steady rise: 249 eight years ago; 317 by 2017; [a]nd then, department officials say there was an explosion. The murder rate in Philadelphia was 499 in 2020. That’s a 40% increase from 2019…. [T]he city is again pacing closely to stats for 2021 — the worst year on record for murder.” (“Crime Without Punishment: Homicide Clearance Rates Are Dropping In Philadelphia As Murder Rates Skyrocket,” CBS Philly, 6/29/2022)

• “Meanwhile, homicide clearance rates — what the department considers solving or closing a case — have been dropping, and 2020 was a low point. Police solved just 42% of murder cases that year. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has been at the helm of the 6,600-member force for 2 1/2 years. She called the 2020 clearance rate alarming. ‘Because it’s one that jumps off the page so readily, it forces us to say, “What’s going on here? Why is this happening?”‘ Outlaw said.” (“Crime Without Punishment: Homicide Clearance Rates Are Dropping In Philadelphia As Murder Rates Skyrocket,” CBS Philly, 6/29/2022)

‘Over The Last Two Years, There Has Been A Noticeable Uptick In Carjackings Nationwide’

“A pastor gunned down in a carjacking outside her home in Memphis. A thief runs up a driveway with a weapon drawn in New Orleans. An Atlanta mother of three, tossed out of her car and run over with it — all captured on her own Ring camera. Carjacking trends can be tough to track, as they sometimes get mixed in with other crime statistics such as auto theft, which increased by more than 16% in 2021. But over the last two years, there has been a noticeable uptick in carjackings nationwide. Over the last few days, high-profile incidents such as the aforementioned are calling attention to something perhaps more alarming than the frequency — the nature of the acts themselves: in public, in broad daylight, in the driveway of one’s own home…. And some of the perpetrators are shockingly young. The pastor killed in Memphis was shot by a 15-year-old. In D.C, a 14-year-old was arrested for jacking six vehicles and trying to take a seventh…. What’s behind this surge in carjackings? Chicago police place some of the blame on young people seeking joyrides or using cars to commit other crimes, then leaving them wrecked or abandoned. But a study this spring showed those same police have recovered fewer than one in five vehicles over the last five years, suggesting larger operations in play, as many stolen vehicles end up shipped to other countries through ports in New Jersey and New York.” (“Police Reporting Nationwide Rise In Carjackings,” NewsNation, 7/21/2022)

• “Police departments nationwide are reporting an increase in carjackings, as well. Chicago — a city with 40 cops on a carjacking task force —had more than 1,900 last year. That number is the most in the country and the most in the Windy City in decades. Additionally, there have been more than 700 in Philadelphia already in 2022, which is on pace to easily surpass last year’s total of 847. Police have made more than 200 related arrests.” (“Police Reporting Nationwide Rise In Carjackings,” NewsNation, 7/21/2022)

“Juvenile crime also increased in major cities. Carjackings, armed robberies, assaults and burglaries involving juveniles has risen in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and others since about 2019, with carjackings being the most prevalent among juveniles. Carjackings have soared by 286% in New York City from 2019 to 2021, while Philadelphia saw the second-highest increase, 238%, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) president and CEO David Glawe. Chicago followed with the third-highest increase, 207%, from 2019 to 2021, then Washington, D.C. with a 200% increase and New Orleans with 159%, Glawe previously told Fox News Digital. Chicago officials have cited data showing carjacking offenders are most often between the ages of 15 and 20.” (“Juvenile Crime Hurting Young Victims Across Major US Cities: ‘A Vicious Cycle,’” Fox News, 7/05/2022)

CHICAGO, IL: “With the start of the summer months, data show some types of crimes are on the rise, while some have decreased. We looked at data for the past four years between the months of May and June in [Chicago] - leading up to July 4th weekend…. Robberies are at their highest of in recent years for this time period – totaling 1,226 compared with 935 last year. Carjackings have also been on the rise consistently and are now at their highest in recent years for this time period – totaling 217 this year, compared with 196 in 2021 and only 83 in 2019. ‘The war on crime right now, the criminals are winning,’ said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).” (“Data Show Some Types Of Crimes Are Decreasing In Chicago, But Robberies And Carjackings Are Spiking,” CBS Chicago, 6/30/2022)

• “Hopkins says his ward has seen an increase in armed robberies and carjackings. ‘We’re seeing armed robbery sprees where criminals are stealing a car and using it to rob people in a given neighborhood over the course of hours - one after another - until they get tired and decide to go home,’ he said….  ‘This neighborhood is being targeted by criminals. They know they can come here, carjack a car, and go on a robbery spree unfettered, unchecked - and walk away with significant proceeds,’ Hopkins said. Hopkins also accused the criminal justice system of failing to prevent suspects from going out and committing more crimes. ‘And if they do get arrested, they’re typically back out on the street on either no bond or a low bond or electronic monitoring - and they go right back to robbing people,’ he said.” (“Data Show Some Types Of Crimes Are Decreasing In Chicago, But Robberies And Carjackings Are Spiking,” CBS Chicago, 6/30/2022)

• “A group of men went on a wild carjacking spree in eight incidents across Chicago in just over an hour Saturday morning [July 16^th]. According to the Chicago Police Department, the robberies happened within minutes of each other in the Little Village, Noble Square, Roscoe Village, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Wicker Park neighborhoods. Police say the four or five men they are looking for started off in the 3300 block of West 31st Street around 6:30 a.m. That’s when they robbed a man ordering from a food truck before getting into an Uber -- and carjacking that Uber driver. They then hit the 1200 block of North Greenview Avenue about a half hour later and attempted to rob a newspaper delivery person while still in that Uber that they stole. They then left North Hamilton Avenue, robbed another newspaper person, stole that person’s Jeep and ditched the stolen Uber for that new car. Police say they split up and headed north where they robbed two people -- a 62-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man -- in one location. At the same time, another possible team at the 800 block of Buckingham Palace carjacked another person and stole his 2014 Toyota Corolla. A short time later, the drivers of the Jeep abandoned the vehicle on North Orchard and carjacked a 36-year-old for his Nissan Murano, which they later ditched in Wicker Park after robbing two more people. After all that, police say, the men fled on foot. The men used semi-automatic handguns to commit these crimes, but police say no one was hurt.” (“Wild Crime Spree Ends With 8 Separate Carjackings, Robberies In One Hour,” CBS Chicago, 7/16/2022)

BALTIMORE, MD: “Homicides aren’t the only violent crimes plaguing Baltimore streets. One night after Baltimore resident Monica Holland shared her near-death experience with would-be carjackers, she says many others in her neighborhood have similar terrifying tales. Her concerns voiced as FOX45 News takes a closer look at where the crime is happening most. Holland is ringing the alarm over the surge of carjackings with many of the crimes committed in her neighborhood…. Holland is the victim of an attempted carjacking by two masked men in front of her home on Chatford Avenue three weeks ago… According to police, carjackings were up 71 percent in the first three weeks of this year with 351 reported now across the city. Most of them happen in BPD’s Northeastern District where Holland lives with 77 carjackings reported.” (“Rise In Carjackings In Baltimore, Most Where Woman Came Face-To-Face With Suspects’ Guns,” WBFF, 7/22/2022)

PRINCE GEORGE’S AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES, MD: “So far this year in Prince George’s County there have been 213 carjackings that is up more than 50% from this time last year when there were 137. Montgomery County Police are also releasing concerning stats to 7News. In the last eight days there have been nine carjackings in the county. There’s been 34 so far this year.” (“Carjackings On The Rise In Prince George’s, Montgomery Counties. What Police Say To Do,” WJLA, 7/09/2022)

Robberies And Thefts From Cars Are Up All Across The Country: ‘Crime’s A Business, And Business Is Really Good In This Space’

NEW YORK CITY, NY: “[W]hen it comes to other crimes like robbery, burglary, grand larceny, those are on the rise…. The police department released new citywide crime stats, following a deadly July 4^th holiday weekend that saw 58 people get shot, seven of them killed, along with three victims stabbed to death…. The NYPD says … grand larceny is up by 41 percent, and robberies up by 36 percent. Burglaries are up by nearly 34 percent.” (NBC 4 New York, 7/07/2022)

WASHINGTON, DC: “Several mail carriers were robbed at gunpoint in the Washington area on back-to-back days ahead of the July Fourth holiday, U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials said. USPIS officials said that two of the six robberies took place [June 30^th], in Takoma Park and Northeast D.C., and that the other four occurred [July 1^st], in Northwest D.C. as well as Wheaton, Beltsville and Columbia in Maryland. Michael Martel, a postal inspector and spokesman for the USPIS, said in a news conference that the first robbery occurred shortly after noon Thursday near 7401 Holley Ave. in Takoma Park, where he said two individuals approached a letter carrier, brandished a weapon and demanded property. The individuals assaulted the carrier and then fled in a black sedan, Martel said. The Post reported in April on a rise in armed robberies of USPS letter carriers in connection with an increase in stolen checks. Martel called the robberies an alarming trend that needs to stop. In two of the recent incidents, he said, the attempted robbers struck the mail carrier in the face or head. In others, Martel said, the subjects brandished a firearm but did not physically assault the carriers…. ‘It is a sad state of things when it comes down to robberies against someone that provides an essential service to our communities,’ Martel said. ‘But it’s happening here, and it’s got to end.’” (“Mail Carriers Robbed At Gunpoint In D.C. And Md., Postal Service Says,” The Washington Post, 7/02/2022)

‘Thefts Of Catalytic Converters … Have Exploded Since The Pandemic Began’

“Thefts of catalytic converters — an antipollution car part laden with platinum, palladium and rhodium — have exploded since the pandemic began, fueled by a surge in the value of those metals. Thieves made off with 12 times as many catalytic converters, which sit exposed underneath most cars, in 2021 as they did in 2019, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an organization that tracks these thefts.” (“Thefts Of This Valuable Car Part Have Gotten So Bad That Congress Is Trying To Fix It,” NBC News, 7/08/2022)

• “Driving without a converter is illegal in some states, and replacing one is expensive. David Glawe, NICB president and CEO, pegged the price of a replacement catalytic converter at about $3,000, up from $1,000 in recent years. ‘Crime’s a business, and business is really good in this space,’ said Glawe, whose organization works to combat insurance fraud and crime. ‘There’s a lot of money to be made. And there’s very little deterrent.’ The raw materials in the converters fetch as much as $240 from scrap dealers, according to Baird. The value of these metals increased as much as fourfold during the pandemic. And for a crime that takes less than a minute to execute, and can be committed with a $100 saw bought at any Home Depot, the rewards outweigh the risks.” (“Thefts Of This Valuable Car Part Have Gotten So Bad That Congress Is Trying To Fix It,” NBC News, 7/08/2022)

“Just under 3400 catalytic converters were stolen from cars in the U.S. in 2019, but that number jumped by a factor of four in 2020, when almost 14,500 were stolen. In 2021, more than 50,000 converters were stolen, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). [C]onverters from the popular Ford F-series trucks and Honda Accord sedans were the most common targets for catalytic theft.” (“Catalytic Converter Theft Is Exploding. What Are Your State’s Lawmakers Doing About It?,” Car And Driver, 7/11/2022)

Increasingly Residents And Local Officials Are Expressing Their Anger At Progressive Legal Policies That Produced Pullbacks In Policing And ‘A “Revolving Door” Criminal System’

DENVER, CO: “[Metro State University professor Stacey] Hervey also said the increases in murders in Colorado and nationwide this year are, in part, the result of a general shift in policing after the George Floyd protests in 2020. ‘We really asked police officers to not be as involved, defund the police, ask them to come up with different ways. And that’s all good, but the reality is crime is still going to occur and there are people out there who are going to take advantage of other people,’ Hervey said.” (“Murder Rates Rising In Metro Denver,” 9News Denver, 7/25/2022)

NEW ORLEANS, LA: “[R]ecently elected progressive officials in the [New Orleans] criminal legal system face criticism tied to a rise in shootings, murders and carjackings during the pandemic. The violence includes several high-profile incidents, like the killing of a 73-year-old woman in March who was dragged alongside her car during a carjacking; four teenagers have been charged as adults with second-degree murder. The political backlash resembles the pressure on progressive officials in cities like New York and Chicago. In San Francisco, voters recently recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin…. Many residents are scared. In a June poll commissioned by a coalition of crime prevention, civil rights and business groups, three-quarters of respondents described the city as unsafe and 84% said crime had gotten worse over the previous year. Calls for service to the New Orleans Police Department tell a similar story. In the year ending in May 2022, there were 235 homicide reports, roughly twice the 116 reported in the year ending in May 2019. Over that same period, reported shooting incidents also doubled, and reported carjackings tripled…. [I]n a series of hearings this year, multiple city councilmembers, all Democrats, referred to what they called a ‘revolving door’ legal system, citing low bonds that allowed people accused of violent crimes to go free before trial.” (“New Orleans Battled Mass Incarceration. Then Came The Backlash Over Violent Crime.,” NBC News/The Marshall Project, 7/06/2022)

• “Portia Pollock was stabbed to death in front of her home in June 2021. The killer, who had a long criminal record and was out on bail awaiting trial in an armed robbery, drove off in her car…. The man who killed Pollock, 46-year-old Bryan Andry, was accused in an armed robbery and a carjacking in the summer of 2020. He remained in jail for months until a newly inaugurated judge, Angel Harris, who ran on a reform platform, agreed to reduce his bond in February 2021. Four months later, he killed Pollock. Andry pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May and was sentenced to 35 years in prison…. Andry’s criminal history dates to 1991 when he was 17, and he spent most of his adult life in state prison. When he was outside, he racked up a string of robbery, theft, and gun and drug possession arrests, court records show.” (“New Orleans Battled Mass Incarceration. Then Came The Backlash Over Violent Crime.,” NBC News/The Marshall Project, 7/06/2022)

CHICAGO, IL: ALDERMAN BRIAN HOPKINS (D-WARD 2): “This neighborhood is being targeted by criminals. They know they can come here, carjack a car, and go on a robbery spree unfettered, unchecked - and walk away with significant proceeds…. And if they do get arrested, they’re typically back out on the street on either no bond or a low bond or electronic monitoring - and they go right back to robbing people.” (“Data Show Some Types Of Crimes Are Decreasing In Chicago, But Robberies And Carjackings Are Spiking,” CBS Chicago, 6/30/2022)