The chant of “defund the police” has yielded results: crime has risen.
In my Midwestern hometown, drag-racing by hundreds of cars is a regular Saturday night activity on the city streets. The Soros-funded prosecutor in St. Louis has deliberately abandoned felony cases so that the perpetrators can be released from jail. Why should the police even bother to arrest lawbreakers if they will not be prosecuted for their crimes?
But it is even worse in San Francisco. California legalized shoplifting (it’s now ok to steal up to $950) and — big surprise — shoplifting has increased. Large groups have been descending on retail stores and looting in broad daylight. As a result, many retail stores, particularly drug stores, have closed their doors. It’s hard to run a business if the merchandise is now free for the taking.
No one wants to live in a community where crime pays. “Troubled youths” should be prosecuted for breaking the law; otherwise, they will continue to break more laws.
How bad is it? Convenient stores are designed to be convenient: in the neighborhood and open every day. No longer. Walgreens has closed 22 stores in San Francisco. Target has closed many California stores. The most vulnerable are the ones most hurt by the rise in crime: their convenience store has closed and the police are not responding to the petty crimes in their neighborhood.
Tolerating minor criminal behavior never reduces crime.
