Detroit 'Defunded' the Police; the Serious Consequences Should Make Anyone Rethink the Idea

AP Photo/Matt York
AP featured image
Protesters rally Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in Phoenix, demanding the Phoenix City Council defund the Phoenix Police Department. The protest is a result of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Advertisement

There’s been a move by the BLM and other radical leftists to defund the police in the wake of the wrongful killing of George Floyd. The movement has gained ground because politicians and media have largely not been pushing back on the insanity of the idea and how doing such a thing would be the worst thing you could do if you really believe that “black lives matter.”

Some have tried to spin it with “oh, that’s not what the protesters really want” or “they just want reform.” No, BLM and others really truly want to abolish the police, just check what they actually say, not what the media spin is.

But let’s look at what happened in Detroit when they effectively “defunded” their police or cut back substantially on money for the police.

From Fox News:

Detroit, according to a report, has seen this decade an uptick in crime because of defunding the city’s police department.

The city cut back its police force and funding during a historic bankruptcy in 2014. Funding for the police department has fallen 20 percent in the last six years. Starting salary is $40,000 a year. Wages for cops were cut 10 percent and have never recovered, accounting for inflation. Health benefits for retired cops were stopped and pension payments postponed.

So what happened as a result? Did it make everything a wonderful leftists utopia? Were people embracing each other in love? Not so much.

Advertisement

But in Detroit, gutting police department budgets has helped a downward spiral.

During 80 days of the coronavirus lockdown, 18 children were shot in Detroit.

In the city, there have been 100 homicides so far this year, a 25 percent spike over last year, and there have been 271 non-fatal shootings, an increase of 30 percent.

When you cut police, you don’t have enough to cover what you were doing before. You make everything harder on the people left who have to cover more. If their pay is also cut, you have people leave which again cuts morale and affects performance. When you cut money, you make things worse.

“We don’t have enough police as it is,” said Rochelle Jones, a working mother of two. “People are acting the fool out here, and now you know the police aren’t going to be coming around this summer with all that’s going on. So what are the children supposed to do.”

India Williams was shot just over five years ago. “All I want from the man who shot me is an apology,” said India, now 12.

Who cares for their lives or how much tougher that has made things for them?

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos