Rising crime is undoubtedly a huge problem in big Democrat-run cities across America like San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New York City—despite what “leaders” in those cities try to tell people.
In some cities, it’s so bad that businesses are closing their stores because it’s no longer profitable to keep them open and it’s not worth the risk to employee safety.
Relatedly, blue states like California and New York have seen a steady exodus of residents to red states like Texas and Florida, where fighting crime is a priority and the cost of living is cheaper.
Compounding the crime issues these cities and states face is the repeat offender problem, which the New York Times highlighted in a Saturday piece detailing that a third of all thefts/shoplifting incidents in the Big Apple are allegedly being committed by the same people (archive link):
New York City’s storefront businesses, already weathering inflation and an uneven recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, are also contending with what the police say is a dramatic increase in shoplifting. But statistics also reveal a startling reality: A relative handful of shoplifters are responsible for an outsize percentage of retail crime.Nearly a third of all shoplifting arrests in New York City last year involved just 327 people, the police said. Collectively, they were arrested and rearrested more than 6,000 times, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Some engage in shoplifting as a trade, while others are driven by addiction or mental illness; the police did not identify the 327 people in the analysis.The victims are also concentrated: 18 department stores and seven chain pharmacy locations accounted for 20 percent of all complaints, the police said.
The story also noted that while soft-on-crime groups a.k.a. “criminal justice reform advocates” claimed such crimes were born out “of necessity,” the law enforcement community begged to differ:
But law enforcement and trade groups have blamed a proliferation of organized shoplifting crews, repeat offenders and the new state bail law that they argue has enabled such offenders to avoid jail time.
The Times also pointed out that the same year the NY state legislature passed bail reform is when the city began experiencing a sharp rise shoplifting offenses:
By the end of 2022, the theft of items valued at less than $1,000 had increased 53 percent since 2019 at major commercial locations, according to a new analysis of police data by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The crime issues plaguing NYC that are happening in part due to bail reform have caused infighting between prominent Democrats in the state as well, with Mayor Eric Adams and NY Gov. Kathy Hochul both lobbying for Democrats in Albany to amend the bail reform law and the state legislature “firmly pushing back” in response, according to the Times report.
In other words, don’t look for any changes to the bail reform law anytime soon—if at all. Which undoubtedly suits politically motivated, Soros-funded district attorneys like Alvin Bragg and violent repeat offenders like Pedro Hernandez, who was the poster child for bail reform advocates, and serial robber Charles “You can’t stop me!” Barry just fine.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C. a police staffing shortage has emerged as a crisis for the Democrat-controlled city:
The size of the D.C. police force has shrunk to a half-century low as officers leave faster than they can be replaced, according to the agency’s chief, forcing the department to spend millions on overtime while it struggles to combat gun violence and carjackings.[…]Police departments in the D.C. region and across the country are struggling to hire and retain officers, competing with each other to offer financial and other incentives in hopes of swelling their ranks. Experts say that fewer people want to work as police officers because of fatigue over crime and civil unrest, heightened scrutiny, low pay and a lack of interest in government service.
Considering the fact that the DC U.S. attorney’s office “chose not to prosecute 67 percent of those arrested by police officers” in 2022, it’s hard to imagine that these “reform-minded” D.A.’s don’t contribute to the recruiting problems these cities face.
As I’ve said before, crime is once again emerging as a major issue for Democrats headed into the 2024 elections and for good reason. Sadly for leftist politicos, no amount of bogus spin and convenient posturing from Joe Biden is going to make it go away.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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