Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced on Instagram that the county will be issuing more concealed carry permits (CCW)to help citizens defend themselves as the homicide rate soars, according to a report from Breitbart.
“So, for crime statistics, we don’t have good news – unfortunately,” Villanueva said. “We’re looking at a 95.24% increase in homicides. That is comparing the same time frame this year to that time frame in 2020.”
“Less cops, more crooks, less consequences,” Villanueva continued in justifying the increased CCWs.
The sheriff emphasized that the county will still adhere to strict background checks and won’t issue permits to just “anyone who can fog a mirror.”
Other crimes have also risen this year, if not as dramatically as homicides, says the Sheriff.
Grand theft auto is up 40%, rape 7.8%, aggravated assaults 12.9% and arson 22%.
Sheriff Villanueva said LASD will not move to a shall issue standard where “anyone who can fog a mirror” gets a CCW, but LASD will be increasing staffing to process “good cause” CCW permits in recognition of increasing danger to public.
Remarks here : https://t.co/L0zTDa6Ir7— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 2, 2021
2020 already saw murder rates up substantially from 2019 in Los Angeles city alone, with 349 murders, an increase of 38%.
Villanueva has blamed the increase in crime on efforts by Democrats to defund police, which includes not just budget cuts, but wholesale changes in how police can perform basic policing, like enforcing bans against homeless loitering.
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Other cities in the US face similar problems with policing.
New York City has stopped its stop-and-frisk policy that helps deter neighborhood crime and Chicago has recently banned police foot-follows that allow police to pursue criminals on foot.
Crime has soared in both cities.
Villanueva said that the LA County Sheriff’s Department cut 1310 positions last year after suffering budget cuts of $145 million.
The department still faces another round of $143 million cuts this year.
Previously the sheriff disputed that notion that police are an existential threat to young black men, the impetus of budget cuts and reform measures, calling it a “big lie” from leftist activists.
Instead, he says that the explosion of crime resulting from so-called reform efforts is the real threat to the existence of the community.
