Perhaps it's not much of a surprise that Atlanta's Democratic mayor has decided to eschew a re-election bid. With the city's police force operating well below authorized levels and doing so less aggressively – with arrests down precipitously – violent crime is surging dramatically.
An illustrative anecdote is a city council member, currently running for mayor, who'd voted to reduce police funding watching helplessly as his car was stolen by children in broad daylight. In response, he sought assistance from...the police. The wider statistics are eye-opening:
“Atlanta’s murders are up and shootings have increased by 40%, according to the latest data. Meanwhile, overall arrests are down by about 43% as Atlanta’s police force remains more than 400 officers under its authorized level.” https://t.co/KL7N0wrZKO
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) June 13, 2021
Atlanta police have investigated 64 homicide cases in 2021, a 58% increase over this time last year. The surge follows a historically deadly 2020, when authorities investigated 157 homicide cases — the most in more than two decades. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has referred to the spike in violence as a “COVID crime wave,” but the city’s death toll continues to mount as more Georgians get vaccinated and life returns to normal. As of June, Atlanta’s murders are up and shootings have increased by 40%, according to the latest data. Meanwhile, overall arrests are down by about 43% as Atlanta’s police force remains more than 400 officers under its authorized level. More than 200 officers quit the force in 2020, many after criminal charges were filed against the two involved in the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks and other officers who used their Tasers on two college students during last summer’s protests downtown. Another 75 Atlanta police officers have left since the start of the year, records show.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece says officials believe police morale is now "stabilizing" and they plan to hire hundreds of officers in the near future. But how quickly could sentiment crumble again, especially with so many public officials reflexively criticizing and scapegoating the police for political reasons? Atlanta isn't the only major American city to witness a major exodus of law enforcement. Here's another striking example out of Seattle:
Almost 275 police officers have left the Seattle Police Department since 2020. The staffing crisis has never been worse, with the lowest number of deployable staff since the 1980s. This year, a total of 84 officers separated from the SPD, with 18 leaving in May, according to a police source. A separation is an all-inclusive term that includes resignations, retirements, and lateral moves to other agencies. The latest data puts total separations at a minimum of 270 since 2020. If this pace holds up, the SPD will far exceed last year’s historic numbers.
Can you blame them? Between the "CHAZ" embarrassment and an openly hostile, left-wing city government, many officers are evidently deciding in droves that it's not in their best interests to remain on the beat in a city whose "leaders" do not remotely have their back. And instances like this in the Woke Wild West will likely only send more officers heading for the exits:
Seattle Department email by Daniel Holmberg sent to all-staff says cops serve “the false gods of white supremacy,” are “mercenaries and zealots” who are “paid in the wages of white privilege, inflicting their wicked commandments upon us.”
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 8, 2021
Read full email: https://t.co/kKLUKwUluS
EXCLUSIVE: *Multiple* complaints are being filed after a Seattle dept. leadership member sent a "deranged" all-staff email saying cops "serve the false gods of white supremacy."
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 11, 2021
Complainants purportedly include the assistant police chief. https://t.co/Oh04wezWDc
Back in Georgia, the Lt. Governor has written a column about Atlanta's rising crime, citing the aforementioned carjacking to make a point about policies and consequences:
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Even against this backdrop [of spiking crime], liberal politicians are still pushing ahead with their ill-advised schemes. The solution from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is building fewer jails. Last week, Councilman Antonio Brown, one of the candidates vying to replace Bottoms, had his car stolen at a campaign stop in the middle of the day. The incident got attention nationally because Brown is not only running on a “defund the police” platform, but he has the receipts to back it up: Last year, he voted to withhold $73 million from the $218 million budget of the Atlanta Police Department's budget. Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp deserves credit for taking the opposite approach. Last week, he announced he was making available up to an additional $5 million from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to law enforcement to fight crime in Atlanta.
Despite having some ongoing issues with the Trump base, Gov. Kemp should have a strong case for re-election next year. He's stood up to woke corporations and left-wing activists lying about the new elections law – which is above water on public approval, despite endless demagoguery from the Left and their press allies – and the economy has been thriving. If Republicans can put ugly recriminations and grudges behind them and turn out in force, he should win. If not, Georgia may get even bluer. I'll leave you with this:
Gov. Brian Kemp announced the state had taken in $3.59 billion more in taxes during the first 11 months of the fiscal year than in the same period last year, suggesting continued strong growth in Georgia's economy since last summer as the state recovers. https://t.co/SpYDGPn3kz
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution (@ajc) June 9, 2021
Also, good luck with this framing, media:
As rising murder rates gain attention in American cities, Republicans have ramped up a misleading campaign to cast Democrats as anti-police and lax on public safety.
— 12 News (@12News) June 13, 2021
https://t.co/rCwAIC3diu
