LAPD case study: how police budget cuts escalate local crime

Political commentator Joel Fox highlights how Los Angeles’ police budget cuts increased violent crime and disproportionately endangered minority families. This case study shows that financially weakening local police forces also weakens communities—a far cry from rose-colored claims from local activists about what happens when you defund the police.

The LAPD already saw $150 million chopped from its budget in the wake of the George Floyd justice reform protests. How much in cuts can the police department stand without putting the city residents’ safety in jeopardy? 

Public safety is often called the first civil right. Yet, the cuts would be particularly harmful to minority communities that have seen a recent upsurge in violent crime. Meanwhile, homicides are up in Los Angeles by nearly 30% over last year to the largest number in more than a decade and the year is not finished yet. 

One argument of those who applauded the potential cuts for the LAPD is that an increase in crime was spurred by lack of adequate resources for communities. But the proposed cuts to the LAPD won’t make any more resources available. The cuts are suggested because of the drop in revenue for the city.

While a city decision to remove more officers from the streets would be a test for the defund the police movement, it also will come with some unintended consequences. Already the rise in crime and homicides and the dramatic increase in gun sales to private citizens, including many first-time buyers, can in good part be attributed to the debate over police funding and police budget reductions. 

This article originally appeared in Fox & Hounds Daily. 

Local progressives’ arguments for defunding the police can be found here

Read the whole thing here.

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