Seattle Defunded Its Police Twice–Now They’re Paying the Price

Was there anything stupider than the defund the police movement? Perhaps anything Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says. But for nearly two years, radical leftists demanded that, because of the actions of a sparse few cops, entire police departments should have their budgets slashed. You might think this movement is over because your neck of the woods rejected it. But sadly, blue cities continue to prop up this insanity.

Many local governments saw the light after the “defund” movement brought nothing but problems. The decision to cut police budgets, in some cases by tens of millions of dollars, is part of the reason why so many people are fleeing blue states to red ones. Because of undeniable facts, some cities have quietly started to increase PD budgets again, but not fully to where they were before.

One city voted to defund their police twice. Guess what happened next?

Violent crime in Seattle, Washington, reached a 14-year high last year, according to a Seattle Police Department (SPD) year-end crime report…

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell addressed the report at a Friday press conference and said the police department has been grappling with a staffing crisis and is short nearly 350 officers, KIRO7 reported. The report’s release comes after Seattle voted not once, but twice, to defund its police department, which further exacerbated its staffing shortages. According to the crime report, 911 response times have suffered as a result of the shortage — priority one median response time increased to 7.5 minutes, and the average response time increased to 10.5 minutes. [Source: Breitbart]

Violent crime is up 20% in Seattle, which includes an increase in aggravated assaults and robberies. This has resulted in a 14-year high in a city that prides itself on being oh-so progressive and woke. I guess the criminals don’t share the sentiment and are enjoying the lack of police officers protecting the streets.

This follows a crippling homeless crisis, that has hammered Seattle for years. The city, like many other liberal locales, refuses to remove the homeless from public places like parks. So, shanty towns have grown everywhere, outside libraries and schools, even around historic locations like the Space Needle. These homeless are mentally unstable and dangerous, no doubt contributing to the crime problem.

It’s really amazing to watch a city destroy itself. Seattle, like many West Coast cities, has passed aggressive, socialist spending programs. They refuse to clear away homeless (which forces them to find help at shelters and rehabs). They have slashed their cops’ budget. Meanwhile, high taxes and the cost of living are driving people away.

What all that amounts to is an unsustainable situation. Either all-out war will break out against the people foolish enough to stay or so many people will move away that there won’t be a city left.

Either way, Seattle is plunging headlong into catastrophic failure. Despite the obvious rise in crime, the mayor has refused to announce an increase in PD funding. Even if they do, years of hate against cops will keep young prospects far from the recruiting desk. Anyone foolish enough to want to be a cop in Seattle will quickly regret it.

Author: Bo Dogan


Most Popular

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More



Most Popular
Sponsored Content

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More