Filed under: Bureaucracy, Capitalism, Crime, Domestic Policy, Election 2020, Free Speech, Freedom, Law, Police, Politics, Progressivism, Regulation, The Constitution, The United States | Tags: Consequences, Defunding Police, Seattle
How utterly embarrassing, when your city government makes the national news, and becomes an object of ridicule. Portland and Seattle are setting bad examples for the rest of the country. On Sunday, thousands of Seattleites turned out to “Defend the Police” in the face of the rabidly leftist majority on the city council’s efforts to defund the police. Today, Chief Carmen Best, a 28 year veteran of the Seattle Police Force and the first Black woman chief of police in the nation, resigned in the face of lack of support.
Other communities across the country that have “defunded” the police are seeing mass retirements, and major increases in crime. New York City is another example. Mayor de Blasio cut back on policing, and New York City has had a surge in shootings and other violent crime in the middle of the Covid crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal. Newt Gingrich said “crime skyrockets as Mayor de Blasio sides with criminals against cops.” Shootings are twice the rate of last year, 821 incidents of gunfire, and 1000 victims so far this year. It’s hard when you have to be on the right side of Black Lives Matter so you won’t be criticized, and discover that the police really did matter and that good policing is what kept violent crime down. Fear of being called “racist” has clearly been a powerful motivation.
There are, and certainly will be consequences. People will look for safer places to live and do business. Police will resign if they do not have the support of the community. Police are resigning or taking early retirement all over the country right now. And there will be consequences. An increase in crime means the job of being a policeman becomes more dangerous. So you want a new and inexperienced force? The sheer stupidity boggles the mind.
Elections are coming up this fall. Hopefully voters will take a hard look at 2020 so far and decide what is working, and what is not. Promises to be an interesting year. Americans may have to learn the hard way just why the police are there, and what they do for the people and the community they serve so courageously.
ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that the Seattle City Council in it’s wisdom has also laid off 100 policemen. We’ll see what the consequences of that turn out to be.
3 Comments so far
Leave a comment
American Elephants 
On the other hand…
I have houses in both East Tennessee and the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Both locations have hired experienced policemen that recently retired/resigned from locations such as New York. Sure, the pay is lower (in raw terms), but there’s also a lower cost of living, and lower crime rates to begin with.
There’s also the fact that both places are open, welcoming, and enthusiastic in their support of police.
A source tells me that Dare County (NC) has more applications than they know what to do with, and NE TN – even over to Knoxville – has been streamlining their hiring process for out of state officers.
Like any other kind of capital, it’s going to where it’s welcome.
LikeLike
Comment by Lon Mead August 12, 2020 @ 6:26 pmExactly. Just good pay won’t cut it if you have to put up with a lack of respect and support. You having hurricane trouble? Since we don’t get that out here, we lose track of just where it is hitting.
LikeLike
Comment by The Elephant's Child August 12, 2020 @ 6:33 pmLucky so far… wind and rain and some bigger waves are the worst of it.
LikeLike
Comment by Lon Mead August 12, 2020 @ 10:31 pm