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.
In the words of one Portland officer: “it all boils down to these three main concepts of being underfunded, understaffed, and under-supported.”
In Democrat-run Portland, a huge number of officers are leaving the force, creating a massive “staffing crisis.” And as officers leave the force, budget cuts have kept the department from filling 100 sworn positions.
As Portland Police Association Executive Director Daryl Turner explained:
“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.”
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.”
And as in Portland, these police departments can’t find new recruits because of the Democrats’ anti-police rhetoric. Sergeant Jake Verhalen in Folsom, California told NBC “we’ve reached a breaking point” as his department struggles to recruit.
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.
It’s time Democrat officials listen to the American people, stand up to radical far-left groups, and support policies that create safe communities.
