The Democratic Party aggressively promoted the idea of ”defunding the police” after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer in 2020, which was supposed to improve public safety. A few years later, a new study found that the homicide rate in Democratic cities is rising, a sign that progressive policies are failing.
In a study published by WalletHub, researchers found that “homicide rates increased an average of about 10% in 45 of the most populous U.S. cities between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2023 , and they keep increasing.”
Cities with the biggest homicide rate problems include Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; Richmond, Virginia; Washington DC; and Detroit, Michigan. Democratic mayors lead all five cities.
The researchers noted that murders were rising faster in cities run by Democrats than in cities run by Republicans.
Separately, Chidike Okeem, an assistant professor at Western New England University, told the NYPost that defunding of police movements directly correlates to increased violence.
“In response to social unrest, some officers have embraced ‘depolicing,’ which is the idea of not engaging in proactive policing practices to avoid greater scrutiny and censorship. Without a pronounced police presence, violence proliferates,” Okeem said .
University of Central Missouri professor Gregg Etter went further and blamed cashless bail as a major factor in the alarming rise in homicide rates in major cities.
“If you have a problem with police use of force in isolated cases, instead of addressing the problem or problem officers, defund the police. This results in a less effective police force, an increase of response times, lower police morale and a growing unwillingness of police to engage in proactive policing,” Etter said.
And it’s not just homicide rates that are rising. Retail theft and car theft are on the rise. Democrats have yet to take responsibility for their failed social justice reforms. As a result, businesses and people quickly leave these dangerous cities for safer places.