Refund the police: Cities backtrack on 2020 clarion call amid crime spikes
Oregon | August 26, 2021
Some cities that came under pressure to slash law enforcement funding last year are quietly adding money back to their police department budgets as crime increases nationwide.
“Defund the police” became a rallying cry among activists in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd — but in 2021, the movement has become politically toxic, with polls revealing low public support for the idea and violence growing in most U.S. cities.
City leaders who once embraced the idea of reducing law enforcement budgets are now considering padding them with more resources next fiscal year to address concerns such as officer shortfalls, crime statistics, and shifting public opinion.
In Portland, Oregon, Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler said last week that he would work with Portland Police Bureau leadership on a plan to put resources behind attracting more officers to its shrinking force.
AT LEAST 44 SHOT AND SEVEN KILLED IN WEEKEND VIOLENCE ACROSS CHICAGO
The bureau was operating with 67 fewer sworn police personnel than authorized in 2020, according to a report police leaders presented to the city council last week. Portland’s police chief told city officials his force needs to hire hundreds of additional officers to meet the demands of a city with rising crime.
City councilors moved to slash $15 million from the police bureau’s budget last year.
In Seattle, violence has proliferated in the months since the city council voted to cut funding from its police department in 2020… (Excerpts from the Washington Examiner)