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WASHINGTON, DC, Jan 9 — There was a time, not so long ago, when citizens greeted their cops on the beat with a meaningful, “thanks for your service.” That was before “defund the police” became the rallying cry of leftist ingrates a couple of years ago. The movement came and went but it left behind a nationwide law enforcement crisis that lingers today and makes us less safe.
Across the country police departments are short on staff and efforts to recruit new police officers are failing, leaving communities unprotected. As former policeman David Smith put it in an interview with the Epoch Times, “If you want me to risk my life, it’s one thing to pay me, but it’s another to respect me.” In its report, the Times noted that across the country undermanned police departments are having a hard time recruiting new officers. For example, the New York Police Department needs to hire 4,000 cops to replace the officers it lost and when the police department in Phoenix, AZ sought to recruit some 1,000 new officers it was able to attract only 35 applicants.
But it is not just America’s big cities that are reeling from the defund the police movement; towns such as Burlington, VT, population less than 45,000 residents, reported its highest homicide rate in more than six decades. A Fox News feature revealed in December that there were five murders committed in 2022. According to Fox, Burlington is considered to be one of the safest cities in the U.S. and, while five homicides may not sound like it was a particularly dangerous number, as Mayor Miro Weinberger put it, “We are not used to this level of violence in Vermont.” The town’s acting Police Chief Jon Murad explained that “Our reliable computer data goes back to 2012, and our general data goes back to 1960. In all that time, 62 years, five murders is the most we’ve ever recorded in a single calendar year.”
The Fox report noted that Burlington is considered to be a progressive city — Bernie Sanders was mayor there in the 1980s — and that it was among the first localities to begin defunding the police. And so in 2020 they cut its police force from a maximum of 105 officers to 74 officers. They also cut its school resource officer program and repurposed its funding to pay for racial justice programs. The Burlington Police Officers Association was quick to caution that “reducing the number of rank and file officers on the street without first reducing the demand for police services will needlessly risk the lives of the most vulnerable in our community and of the police officers whose job it is to protect them.”
It finally dawned on the city council that “defund the police” was a wrong-headed thing to do and so the final tally was that the town was left with a less than sufficient number police officers as of the end of 2022. Chief Murad said “officers felt unsupported and staffing quickly plummeted. Last autumn, as headcount continued to fall and crime increased, the council raised the cap to 87. But that did not stop the departures. Our current staffing is 62.”
The disrespect of the defund the police movement has triggered the police shortage and a rise in crime across the country. An FBI report says that 2022 was a particularly dangerous year to be a policeman, one of the three most dangerous years for cops over the past two decades.
John Grimaldi served on the first non-partisan communications department in the New York State Assembly and is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Priva Technologies, Inc. He has served for more than thirty years as a Trustee of Daytop Village Foundation, which oversees a worldwide drug rehabilitation network.
We have, as a nation, “allowed” radical extremist to take control of major parts of our country very willingly. We “allowed” the drug cartels to set up shop in our schools, on our streets in every town and city. We promoted petty criminals to rock star Icons for evading arrest. We’ve allowed organized youth gangs to terrorize businesses with hit and run looting. A few people fought back and were charged with assault on the armed “suspect” robing them at gun point. With our rotating door justice system sponsored and paid for by the criminal king pins who in their right mind would risk their life or go to jail for doing their job – being a policeman. If we want law and order back, it starts with us.
Cause
Excellent article.
im no longer a member,;but i recommend,sauce for goose is sauce for gander,right?Example;you want cops??DO NOT HIRE THE NICE ONES!! Right now you need the super-tough, even violent, and take no s___– police!!!BAD GUYS!!Yes you’ll have trouble controlling em.–Ex -ARMY GIYS need jobs.–But what nice folks need, is to keep in line a good supervisor(s)over very bad bad cops!!LET COPS DEFEND THEMSELVES!! THE GOOD COPS ARE QUITTING~~does that NOT TELL YOU?BAD COPS are the answer~~”Semi-militia”.–Army, navy, Marines–The ones who got thrown out of army,for violence,ect. Yes,you nice people are horrified;–but, nice people gotta learn to play tough, or nice people lose nation. Yes you will LOSE YOUR COUNTRY!! THINK JOHN WAYNE!! HE WAS A GREAT PERSON,ANDV NEVER LET ANYONE WALK ALLL OVER HIM!!
Yore letting cartels, Biden, Democrats kill off yer nation!!you will LOSE YER COUNTRY!!!!
YOU WANT THAT?TO LOSE NATION??-That is what I recommend; ex-military guys,a good idea,LEARN to play tough!! OK? God won’t hate you for this,–He wants you to survive.
The Defund the police movement has been a disaster. The United States is making a transition from a “super-power” to a “third world country.” When I travel to Peru, I feel safer in Lima than in San Francisco. There are no needles left on the streets in Lima. There are no human feces on the sidewalks in Lima. No one breaks into my car when it is parked on the street in Lima. Perhaps it is time for the United States to lose everything in order for the people to wake-up. Lima is a city of between 11 and 13 million residents and I feel safer there than in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento. The newspapers in Peru report events more fairly and truthfully than in the United States.
Pardon my French but..NO SH*T SHERLOCK!!
Most of us knew this would be the consequences of this ridiculous push. Anyone with intelligence doesn’t want less police presence, they want to live in a safe neighborhood. The real shame is that there were/are many politicians that were seen on the side of criminals instead of the police. What kind of message does that send? Why would anyone with decent credentials want to be a police officer today? The officers should be held accountable for any improper behavior but at the same time we are seeing them fired for relatively minor infractions. More importantly, we are seeing violence against police at a rate that is unprecedented. Most people can make the same money or more money working in a safe environment and actually be appreciated, why become police officer today? Blame Pelosi, Schumer and people like Soros that have funded these domestic terrorists.
The reason behind the defund the police movement is to get everyone sick of crime, then the feds will offer a fix! Federal police! Then they will come get anyone they want! It’s coming. This is why they have been pushing defund! They are paying us the stole our country our freedom and more soon!
There is a consequence to every decision
Every Thing these New Radicalized Far Left Demoncrat Socialist Party along with the Deep Dark State Have Done and Continue Doing is Propagated Against Our Rule Of Laws, Our Constitution and Our True American Values!!!!! Their Evil Agenda is to Destroy AMERICA!!!!
Give Berny a gun. He could be the next Barney Fife. Kyle L.
Let me get this right, you defund the Police, no cash Bail, and you lower the length of punishment and somehow Crime will go down, I can’t remember everything I have heard in life, but that might be the dumbest thing I have heard, you would have to be a total Idiot to understand that thinking.
Here is an Example: when you were growing up and your parents told you to take out the trash and you didn’t do it, did your parents give you extra allowance, NOT. I was taught that I had to live by the same rules as everyone else.
Here is my solution: Let’s say the punishment is 5 to 10 for robbery and someone commits robbery and is sentenced they must do at least 5 years and for the 2nd offence is doubled so it’s now 10 to 20 and they must do the 5 years they got off for the first offence, so they do a Mnium of 15 and for every time they commit the same offence the prison sentence is Doubled, and must do anytime they got off for prior sentances, punishment is about sending a message.
HOPEFULLY ALL CRIME VICTIMS ARE liberals ONLY
& triggered Gun Sales X since Virus hit in 2020+
While I was posting my comment below, I was watching Stupid Bidens Press Secretary, trying to clean up the document scandal, I wish she would have been around when I was in High School, surely, she could have convinced my teacher that the dog Eat my homework, It’s the same old story, one lie, causes another one to be told!
Lie after lie, after lie after lie, it never ends!
Well, duh!! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that bad people will not suddenly straighten up if no one is checking on their activities. The Defund the Police mantra has been the most insane ideas to gain traction in recent memory. You don’t even have to look at hardened criminals to see the results of a lack of police presence. Just observe drivers on any street or highway. Unless a patrol car is clearly visible along the roadside, a vast majority of drivers operate their vehicles at speeds far in excess of the posted limits. As soon as a cop shows up, suddenly you see brake lights as the speeders instantly transform into obedient drivers.
No one should be surprised about this. We reap what we sow and we have sowed lawlessness.
This is another thing people think is a blunder; an emotion charged mistake that will roll back by itself as lefties realize the stupidity of it. Well, no. This is another version of what they call empowerment. Its yet another example of lefty rebellion against the natural order of things. Its going to take decades for police ranks to fill out again and thats the idea. Chaos.
That is to cause unrest in the country because they can’t go into the streets and cause unrest like South American “students” do. Then when people start defending themselves the left will use that as an excuse in an attempt to confiscate firearms.
Defund the police & blame all confrontations on police officers & not the person that broke the law that led to this incident & this will not work but only embolden people to break law cuz they know they will get away with it.
Watching Hannity last night & *** stated that the people arrested for Jan 6 Capitol riot are political prisoners & Hannity defends these same people by saying they did not arrest all of the people that performed 500 of these riots in last few years, so why these poor people that broke into Capitol on Jan 6th. Two wrongs do not make it right & any person that caused damage or injury in any of these riots should be arrested. And Trump has stated if elected in 2024, he would consider pardons for these 900 people that were charged or arrested for Jan 6th riot. Crime is crime no matter who commits it & they should pay the penalty & we need to quit playing politics & saying that Jan 6th was not an affront to USA & that the people that injured the Capitol police & Capitol property were nice people. Someone said “Stand back & Stand By” during 2020 debates & how did that work out.
only stupid people think defuding police is a good idea
“Triggered a rise in crime”
So cops don’t work? Amazing thanks for proving it lol
We need more Police,not fewer.We need harsher penalties for crime.We do NOT need to reward criminals,they need to be put in prison.NOT RELEASED !!
Police are a relatively new type of law enforcement for the USA beginning in Boston around 1860. Prior to that, as far back as the 1600’s we had elected sheriff’s and their deputies, no govt police. Ron Paul has good insight on this subject and spoke as far back as the 1980’s about it. Judicial Watch also has written on the subject. In a nutshell, police are govt enforcers aka police for the govt while elected constitutional sheriff’s are much different and more accountable as well as more inline with citizens constitutional rights. Sheriff’s are the highest law enforcement authority in the country in their county. It’s worth your time researching this topic.
Da, you think!!!
Past time for silent majority to deflect the radicalism of the activist minority. Complicating matters is the open border dumping untold numbers for people from all over. Not all are criminal but very few have a clue how to function in our communities. We need our police and they need our support!
Well, these cities are reaping what they have SOWN. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but BETTER there than HERE!! As the defund people say-“You can always call a social worker”. People, YOU and your family members better consider training, CWP’s, and get acquainted with what the criminal society is doing. Stand up for the 2nd Amendment and protect your family. Police are now gelded by Biden, his criminal friends, and the NWO.
After nearly 34 years of serving on the front lines of Los Angeles, I have retired from Police Work and not a moment too soon. Spit on, shot at, cussed at, attacked, and run over all the nice things I experienced for the Citizens I was sworn to protect.
Protect your Police or learn to Protect Yourselves.
Let the people who say defund the law .Go out to the public with out them and they will change there minds if they have any.Look what has happen to this country we do not have any laws that protect citizens only criminals.They can still,kill and get caught doing anything that is unlawful and all the get is a slap on the hand.We need to clean Washington it has gotten very rotten.God is watching.
Law Abiding Citizens are reaching the end of our patience, watching out of the country billionaires dictating our laws (through their bought and paid for advatars). What’s it gonna take? A return to Vigilantism? And to be honest with..everytime I see a person ambushed on the street…or pushed on the rails in the subways…or pushed down escalators….or getting the crap kicked out of them…I am ready for it. I’m tired of seeing low-lifes literally getting away with crimes.
Blatant morons
These people are demented and Evil.
Those politicians are responsible for every life lost to this diabolic policy since its implementation.
What else did everyone expect to happen? Rational folks didn’t want to go to war against police, but hateful Progressives also knew this would cause more crime and that’s what they want to justify creating a national police Gestapo.
Even if arrested the crooks are kicked free
What’s the bail for assault with a dangerous weapon? How about destruction or injury of property, tagging property? Katherine Clark is your mom it’s $500.00 REALLY