Big cities have been adopting stronger public safety policies as crime rates continue to climb.
In an about-face from 2020, big city municipal leaders have been stepping up anti-crime measures by increasing policing efforts and criminal penalties.
For instance, local officials in Washington, D.C. approved a new crime bill that will increase police powers, keep more defendants in jail while awaiting trial, and enhance punishments for crimes involving a firearm.
“What we’re seeing now is a recognition that we have to lean in and do more as government to provide for the safety and well-being of our residents,” explained D.C. Council Member Brooke Pinto, according to Politico. “We didn’t do a complete 180 from where we were, but instead we looked at the practical realities on the ground and sought to right-size many of those reforms.”
Nationwide, the violent crime rate has gone down in all categories except for robberies, while property crimes are up — thanks in large part to spikes in larceny and motor vehicle theft.
Democrat-led cities have seen the most considerable rises in property crime, demonstrated anecdotally by the shuttering of several Target stores in New York City, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle amid uncontrollable retail theft, as covered by The Dallas Express. All had made considerable cuts to their police budgets in 2020.
Some Democrat-led cities’ approach to crime, however, has shifted considerably. For instance, this past week alone, the National Guard was deployed in New York City’s subways to clear out criminals, San Francisco voters approved the drug screening of welfare recipients, and drug possession was made a crime again in Portland after an experiment with statewide decriminalization went belly up.
Examples can also be found elsewhere, for instance, in one of the more Democrat-leaning cities in Florida: Miami Beach.
The city just released a video campaign “breaking up” with Spring Breakers and voicing frustration with visitors disturbing the peace and committing crimes. Noting that “it isn’t us, it’s you,” the speakers in the video warn of curfews, bag checks, restricted beach access, DUI checkpoints, and more.
Soft-on-crime policies have been sharply criticized in Dallas, where Mayor Eric Johnson and Police Chief Eddie Garcia have been outspoken about needing the support of local judges and prosecutors to get crime under control.
For instance, Dallas County’s bail system has been scrutinized for lowering bond amounts for individuals charged with violent offenses, while District Attorney John Creuzot was behind the much-criticized policy of refusing to prosecute people who steal less than $750 worth of items deemed to be necessary goods. The “theft amnesty” policy has since been rescinded after community backlash.
At the same time, the Dallas Police Department has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage. It fields only around 3,000 officers, whereas a City report called for roughly 4,000. The effects of this deficit are clear in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs more crime than Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a specialized police unit and private security guards.
Moreover, Dallas city officials budgeted the department just $654 million this fiscal year. This is far below the spending levels seen on police in other high-crime jurisdictions such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.