Written by Brett Wilkins
The rhetoric surrounding Defunding the Police has become increasingly dangerous for politicians as 52% of Democrats and Independents as well as 57% of Republicans list violent crime as a Major Crisis according to polling firm Navigator Research.
Democratic cities that vowed to cut police budgets and department spending after the death of George Floyd in 2020 have seen upticks in violent crime causing many to question and oppose the effectiveness of the new policies.
Homicides alone, compared to last year, have increased by 56% in Minneapolis, 22% in New York City, 27% in Los Angeles, and an astounding 800% in Portland according to the National Fraternal Order of Police.
In May, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced that his state would be taking a different approach to the national discussion. After calling the treatment of police officers a “total disgrace”, Gov. DeSantis announced in a local press conference that while “Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some”. The statement comes as Florida unveils their fiscal budget which allocates $1,000 bonuses for first responders.
According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, 36% of voters approve of Joe Biden’s handling of violent crime while 44% of voters disapprove of his handling of the crime crisis.
With far-left Democrats such as congresswoman and “squad” member Rashida Tlaib tweeting, “No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed”, politicians embracing a tough on crime approach to policing or generally anything more moderate than defunding the police will undoubtedly gain traction with voters in the 2022 midterms.
