Last summer, amidst the riots following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, major cities across the country chose to “defund the police” for the sake of what they perceive to be social justice.
The results have been disastrous.
Notably, Austin, Texas and Seattle have felt the effects of such a policy, Fox News reports.
Seattle cut its police department budget by 20 percent this year, allocating the funds instead to undefined “community groups.”
The cuts to the Seattle Police Department budget were far less than those called for by BLM and Antifa activists.
As a result, violent crime in Seattle has spiked.
Seattle was home to the “autonomous zone,” also called “CHOP” or “CHAZ.”
When Antifa and other leftists took over and occupied an entire block of the city of Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan called it a “block party,” and praised its members for bringing about a “summer of love.”
Last weekend there were six more shootings in Seattle, and Durkan has now called for a reversal of the department-cutting budget that she signed last December.
“As a city, we cannot continue on this current trajectory of losing police officers,” Durkan said at a press conference on Monday. “Over the past 17 months, the Seattle Police Department has lost 250 police officers which is the equivalent of over 300,000 service hours. We’re on path to losing 300 police officers.”
Durkan has radically altered her view in light of the recent growth in crime, while still trying to appease her leftist constituency.
“We are creating meaningful alternatives,” Durkan said of the “community groups” that were supposed to substitute for some policing.
“But, as I said last year, the city has an obligation to still continue constitutional policing and respond to 911 calls,” she added.
Like Seattle, Austin has seen a dramatic rise in violent crime following a similar police department budget cut.
Last August, the Austin city council voted to slash millions of dollars from the Austin Police Department.
As a result, the department has found itself vastly understaffed.
“About 150 positions are vacant right now,” interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said. “That’s not good for our overall crime rate in Austin.”
Amidst the staffing shortage, murder rates have increased by 96% from last year.
“I call it a crisis because it is a crisis,” he said of the violent crime.
Due to the staffing shortage, the police department’s response time has increased dramatically, causing more situations to escalate into violence.
“When they get there, they then likely have to wait for back-up,” said Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association.
“They don’t have the resources they need to actually address whatever the situation is,” he added.
“We have seen the consequences of defunding and dismantling law enforcement in communities across the country,” said Abbott. “This puts residents in danger and invites crime into communities and we can’t allow this in Texas.”
