Crime statistics show the recent trend of surging violent crime in Democrat-led cities with George Soros-supported prosecutors and police defunding movements is continuing unabated. Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Cully Stimson told reporters that since 2015, crime in those cities has “exploded.”
In New York City, the number of murder cases for 2022 dropped, while robberies, felony assault and burglary, grand larceny, and grand theft auto all went up. Manhattan Institute Fellow Hanna Meyers said that falling rates of “policing, prosecution and incarceration” in the city have all contributed to violent crime increases.
2023 Joey Biden's America Continues Its Decline…Violent crime soared in 2022; blame pinned on too few cops, lax prosecutors, more brutal society – https://t.co/zTokH0dbml
— tom carbone (@oneyedjack) January 2, 2023
Meyers said, “Drops in arrests have been spurred by, among other things, policies that dissuade officers from engaging suspects, such as NYC’s diaphragm law.”
“This increases the potential risk to cops of either physical injury or of professional, legal, and reputational consequences from grappling with suspects,” she added.
Leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced a policy last January saying his office would treat armed robberies without “genuine risk of physical harm” as misdemeanors going forward.
Bragg also said he would not pursue any jail time for crimes other than murder, other violent felonies, and major white-collar crimes. However, a month later, he said he would seek prison sentences for offenders “who harm or attempt to harm a police officer.”
In Chicago, aggravated battery complaints fell last year while robbery, burglary, and theft complaints all rose, according to the city’s police department. Homicides in the Windy City fell in 2022 compared to the 1990s but have risen compared to 2016. Soros-supported Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx took office that year.
Foxx has been a notable advocate for the Illinois initiative to abolish cash bail.
Jim Murphy, a former Cook County assistant prosecutor, resigned last July over Foxx’s bail reform efforts. He said at the time, “This administration is more concerned with political narratives and agendas than with victims and prosecuting violent crime.”
Likewise, Philadelphia saw increases in gun robberies, retail theft and total violent crime statistics in 2022.
Stimson said, “When you refuse to prosecute anybody for thefts, you see Wawa’s leaving downtown Philadelphia, Walgreens in San Francisco closing stores.”
“So what does that do? It sends to the criminal element the green light,” he added.
