Paris Dennard | Republican National Committee

Looking for a major cause of the spike in crime in our nation’s cities? Look no further than the devastating impacts Democrats’ defund the police efforts have had on officer morale.

Officer Morale at Historic Lows

“Morale is as bad as it has ever been before. We’re dealing with rioting at a level and a sustained violence that we’ve never seen before. We’re looking at violence in our city, gun violence in our city, like we’ve never seen before. We’re looking at the most catastrophic staffing levels we’ve ever seen before. We’re looking at budget cuts to defund us like we’ve never seen before. All those things play into the morale of a police officer — coming to work every day, trying to do your job, trying to do it right with all these roadblocks in your way.”

— Daryl Turner, Portland Police Association Executive Director

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But Portland is by no means an isolated example. As NBC News reports: “It’s a problem that’s exploded nationwide. Several cities have faced calls to defund the police, others have slashed budgets due to COVID, more and more officers say they feel villainized like never before. A survey of about 200 police departments finds that retirements are up 45% and resignations 18% when compared with the previous year.”

Black-Owned Businesses Hardest Hit

Entrepreneur Layla Bitoy-Dillon was hit with back-to-back burglaries in the same week of her reopening after surviving the global pandemic and economic shut down. She said, “They actually broke into the garage, vandalized the garage, pried open the security doors in the back, came into the store, ransacked everything,” causing approximately $100,000 worth of damage.

After not receiving any support Layla took to the media to get more attention saying, “initially when this happened to me on the 26th and the 28th I was met with deaf ears with no support or resources from my elected officials and/or the community based organizations…”

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Yet, even as crime rates surge across the nation, Democrat officials are astonishingly STILL pushing to defund the police. But the American people see right through the Democrats’ disastrous policies. Only 18% support defunding the police with 58% opposed. Even in the liberal Portland metro area, 74% of residents want policing to increase or stay the same.

• In Chicago and several other cities, last year was the worst year for killings since the mid-1990s.
• Shootings are also on the rise, with spikes of 86 percent in New York City and 51 percent in New Orleans just this year.
• In Atlanta, rape, assault and vehicle thefts have increased by more than 30 percent compared with last year.
• In Washington, DC, carjackings have risen 141 percent in 2020.

Democrats Are Responsible for Horrific Trend

Democrats fueled the movement to defund the police last summer and are squarely to blame for the results of this disastrous policy.

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): “Defunding the police means defunding the police.”
• Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN): “We need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Because here’s the thing, there’s a cancer.”
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA): Efforts to defund police departments are “about the investment in our communities which have historically been divested from.”

Now, even though the horrendous results of this movement have become evident, Democrats are doubling down on calls to defund police.

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI): “Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist . . . No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”
• Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO): “Defunding the police isn’t radical, it’s real.”

Bottom line: The failed leadership of so many Democrat-run cities continue to negatively impact Black communities in every way. On top of poorly performing schools, inflation, increased gas prices, closed businesses, open borders, BLM riots, and the pandemic, there is now a drastic increase in crime and violence.  Democrat politicians need to stand up to radical far left groups and join Republicans in supporting policies that create safer Black communities.

Paris Dennard is the Republican National Committee’s national spokesman and director of Black media affairs. Follow him on Twitter: @ParisDennard.