Tag: Defunding the police and crime

This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished retired judge, John H. Wilson

Is there any relation between Chicago Mayor Lightfoot’s views and the increase in violent crime?  According to the Chicago Sun Times, “as the number of murders in Chicago soared in June, there was a huge slowdown of police activity that the police union blames on rock-bottom morale and distrust of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.” 

Portland, Oregon is in a category all its own.  As of this writing, riots disguised as protests have gone on for 60 straight days.  In particular, these rioters have focused on the federal courthouse, prompting federal agents to protect federal property.  The reaction of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler?  “(This) appears to be a blatant abuse of police authority by the Trump administration. As best as I can tell, this is an effort – a last-gasp effort by a failed president with sagging polling data who’s trying to look strong for his base, and so he is actually using the federal police function in support of his candidacy.” 

Mayor Wheeler has made no secret of his intention to defund the Portland Police.  According to The Oregonian, he has “pledged the city will divert $12 million from the police bureau and other city departments to directly support communities of color, defund three police units including the gun violence reduction team and ban officers from using chokeholds as part of plans to reform the Portland Police Bureau.” 

This leads us to Mayor Bill DeBlasio of New York City, another proponent of defunding his city’s police department.  “According to the NYPD, 178 homicides were reported in New York City so far this year. The statistics include information through June 30. This is a 21 percent increase from the number (of) homicides reported during the same time last year when the city saw 147 homicides…The city has seen 528 shooting incidents and 636 shooting victims this year through June 30. This translates to a 46 percent increase in incidents and a 53 percent increase in shooting victims compared to the same time last year when the city reported 362 incidents and 415 victims.”

Yet, how does Mayor DeBlasio spend his time while murder and shootings are on the rise?  When not quoting Karl Marx, and Che Guevara, the Mayor is painting the words “Black Lives Matter” in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. 

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Of all the actions of the various Mayors discussed here, Mayor DeBlasio is the only one who might have violated Ethical Rules by his actions.  Under Chapter 68 of the New York City Charter, Section 2604(b)(2) and (3), “No public servant shall engage in any business, transaction or private employment, or have any financial or other private interest, direct or indirect, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties,” and “No public servant shall use or attempt to use his or her position as a public servant to obtain any financial gain, contract, license, privilege or other private or personal advantage, direct or indirect, for the public servant or any person or firm associated with the public servant.” 

Does painting the words “Black Lives Matter” on a public street constitute an attempt to “use his position as a public servant to obtain any…other private or personal advantage” and constitute an act “in conflict with the proper discharge of his…official duties?”  That would be up to the NYC Conflict of Interest Board to decide.  But the placement of this particular “mural” just outside the residence of the current President, when DeBlasio is a former candidate for the Presidency himself underscores the political advantage New York City’s Mayor may expect from supporters of Black Lives Matter.

And need it be mentioned that Mayor Lightfoot, Mayor Wheeler and Mayor DeBlasio are all members of the Democratic Party? 

All the blame for New York City’s problems cannot be laid at the feet of Mayor DeBlasio alone.  Doing his part to support the new agenda, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a contender for Mayor of New York in the next election, “urged people to solve non-violent disputes among themselves without involving police officers to avoid the risk of a police confrontation escalating.”  The result?  “A Brooklyn woman was killed after attempting to reason with several people illegally setting off fireworks in the neighborhood of East New York.” 

So how is that “Defunding the Police” thing going for these cities?  Apparently, no so good.

Photo: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot (Office of the Mayor)

This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished retired judge, John H. Wilson

There is a popular parody of the typical advertisement for action movies which begins, “In a world gone mad…” or words to that effect.  Lately, for many of us, it may feel as if that parody has come to life.

As a direct result of the “protests” which spread across the world in the wake of the death of George Floyd, more than one municipality has decided that “defunding” their police department and curtailing enforcement of various public order laws is necessary to bring a halt to police brutality.  Let us see how that policy is working across the nation.

In Minneapolis, the City Council has proposed an ordinance which seeks to replace the Police Department with a “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention Department.” This new Department will ” have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach,” with a Director who “will have non-law enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches.”

While this proposal, unanimously approved by the Minneapolis City Council, must be reviewed by a public commission before it can be added to the next ballot for approval by the voters,  many of those voters decided to put into practice the philosophy of the Minneapolis City Council in advance.

As a homeless encampment grew in size in Powderhorn Park, which is located within the City of Minneapolis, “residents there have vowed to avoid calling the cops, feeling that doing so could put people of color in danger. But now with hundreds of outsiders flooding the park — drawing in more car traffic, including drug dealers, and resulting in at least two overdoses — the neighbors are facing a moral dilemma.”    In fact, since the homeless have made Powderhorn Park their home, among a host of other crimes, three rapes have been reported in the span of two weeks.   

As one resident of the area stated, while discussing the increase in crime, “We’re all liberals…We’re all sympathetic and would love for these people to have dignified housing and to get the social services that the city, the state, the county is failing to support. But this is not the answer.” 

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Meanwhile, in the less liberal neighborhoods of Minneapolis, according to the Wall Street Journal, “Minneapolis residents in some areas still recovering from rioting and unrest are forming community watch and security groups, some bearing firearms, to fight a surge of crime.” 

Much like Chicago, Minneapolis has seen a recent increase in gun violence.  The reason?  “Minneapolis police have stopped making as many street stops as they made previously.” 

Speaking of Chicago, while Mayor Lori Lightfoot has not expressly supported defunding the police, her intentions appear to be the same – “what I believe what we’re really talking about is what I ran on, and why it’s so important that we follow through on a commitment to the investments in black and brown neighborhoods that haven’t seen any investment, truly, in decades,” she said …“What people are saying, I think, is in too many communities across our city, particularly black and brown Chicago, what they see every day is a manifestation of government is the police…” 

And how is this philosophy working out in the Windy City?   “Six months into the year, 329 people have been killed in Chicago, an increase of about 34% from the 246 homicides during the same period last year, according to police. Shootings in that period rose by about 42%, from 978 in 2019 to 1384 in 2020.  Shootings across the city increased by 75% last month alone, with 424 shootings in June 2020 compared to 242 in June 2019, according to police statistics. Murders in Chicago rose by 78%, with 89 reported in June 2020 compared to 50 in the same month last year.” 

The Report Concludes Tomorrow

Illustration: Pixabay