If you listen to the mainstream media, the Democrat-led effort to defund the police has produced a paradise of peace and prosperity. But when you look at the crime rates in Democrat-run major cities that defunded the police, and went soft on criminals, you see a different story. Let’s take a look at the crime data, and see the real effects of these policies.

Daily Signal reports on the policies that were enacted in Democrat-run major cities.

Chicago

Defunding the police:

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, proposed an $80 million cut to Chicago Police Department funding in October, according to Injustice Watch.

Releasing criminals:

Illinois became the first state to completely abolish its cash bail system earlier this year, NBC News reported.

[…]“This legislation marks a substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state, and our nation and brings us closer to true safety, true fairness, and true justice,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, said after signing the bill in February, according to NBC News.

Baltimore

Defunding the police:

Baltimore City Council agreed to cut $22 million from the city’s police budget in June 2020, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Reduced prosecution of crimes:

In March, Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the city’s top prosecutor, announced she would no longer prosecute prostitution, drug possession, or other minor offenses, NBC affiliate WBAL-TV reported.

Milwaukee

Defunding the police:

The Milwaukee Common Council approved a police budget cut in November that reduced the department by 120 officers, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Pittsburgh

Defunding the police:

The Pittsburgh City Council approved a police department hiring freeze in July 2020, according to WPXI-TV. The council also ordered the department to redirect 10% of the budget to social service programs every year.

Los Angeles

Defunding the police:

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $150 million cut to the city’s police department in July 2020, ABC affiliate KABC-TV reported. Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, supported the massive budget cuts.

These are Democrat policies, enacted by Democrat mayors and Democrat City Councils. In addition to these actions, several Democrat-run cities such as Portland and New York City dropped most charges against rioters and looters, or released them outright. So, what happened after these actions were taken?

First, the Washington Examiner:

Homicides in cities increased by up to 40% over the previous year, the biggest single-year increase since 1960, a trend that has not abated so far in 2021. Sixty-three of the 66 largest police jurisdictions saw a rise in at least one category of violent crime, ranging from homicide and rape to robbery and assault, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Homicides and shootings have gone up for three straight years in Washington, D.C., and at least a dozen mass shootings were reported nationwide over the weekend.

The Federalist has more to say.

Massive destruction to property:

We saw almost a year of Black Lives Matter and Antifa mob violence with 574 riots; $2 billion in destruction, arson, and looting; at least 25 dead; and more than 2,000 police officers injured.

Undermining police morale:

The war on cops has also escalated. Already this year, 241 officers have been shot, 44 killed by gunfire, and ambush attacks have increased 103 percent.

[…]Officer morale is at rock bottom and many of the most qualified veterans are bailing out. Last year across the country, retirements increased by 45 percent and resignations by 18 percent.

Everyone is talking a lot about the foreign policy blunders of the Biden administration, the $3.5 trillion spending bill, the rising inflation, the threats to religious liberty, the rolling back of protections for the unborn, the anti-parent bias of public schools, etc. But you can’t neglect the victims of violent crime and property crime – many of them black.

It turns out that the Democrat voters who put the Democrats into office were actually the most opposed to black people’s prosperity and security. Intentions don’t matter. Only results matter. The results of Democrat policies have been a disaster for black people living in these Democrat-run cities. We have to do better for blacks, and that means not voting for the policies of the secular left.