Defunded Police Departments and the Recent Increase in Violent Crime Austin , Texas In August of 2020 , the Austin City Council voted unanimously to cut its police budget by a third , moving the funding to social services including food access , violence prevention and abortion access . After that , violent crime dramatically increased . Murders are up 54 % over last year , and aggravated assaults are up 13 %. The United States Attorney in Austin , Gregg Sofer , reasoned that the defunding of police fueled the surge in violent crime . On the other hand , City Council Member Gregorio Casar countered , “ Violence is up across the country because of the public health crisis and economic crisis .”
Minneapolis , Minnesota Minneapolis was the epicenter of protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by an officer of its police department . In June of 2020 , nine members of the Minneapolis city council responded by announcing their intention to completely dissolve the city ’ s police force . “ We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe ,” Council President Lisa Bender told CNN . Then , in December , the city council unanimously approved a budget that shifted $ 8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other services . The council did so in the face of surging violent crime rates and massive officer attrition .
By mid-February of 2021 , residents begged the city to hire more officers , complaining of longer response times and the unbearable increase in violent crime . The city council restored $ 6.4 million to the police budget , paving the way for additional hires .
Seattle , Washington According to its former chief , Carmen Best , the Seattle Police Department was already struggling with low staffing numbers and budgetary strain in 2020 when the city council slashed the department ’ s budget and cut as many as 100 officers from the force . The council took this action in response to protests against police violence which had escalated into riots . The unrest famously reached its zenith when protesters overtook a six-block zone in the heart of downtown Seattle and rendered it lawless for weeks after police abandoned a nearby precinct building . Meanwhile , the city experienced a year of record-high homicides . Nevertheless , in December of 2020 , the city council of Seattle reduced its police budget by almost 20 %.
Even as the city council now considers cutting another $ 5.4 million , the police department has seen 911 response times soar as a result of staffing deficiencies . “ Due to the cascading impacts of COVID-19 , threats of layoffs , and recent budget reductions , SPD is experiencing extreme staffing shortages , the future effects of which are not fully known ,” the department reported . Though the challenges of the past year have no doubt been uniquely challenging for the SPD , there is little to suggest that this beleaguered department will see relief anytime soon .
The foregoing are but a few of the jurisdictions that have defunded their police to a significant degree . Similar outcomes can be found in New York , Chicago , Los Angeles , and many other cities . As demonstrated by the above examples , the defunding of police has been accompanied by a spike in violent crime . And
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