"De-Funding the Police" - US

[CharlesHarris]

Major cities feeling the loss of police funding as murders, other crimes soar
https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-defund...ime-budget

In Portland, (Oregon) murders more than tripled year-over-year.

Police statistics from July 2020, when the city’s budget cuts were made, and this past February -- the most recent data available -- show homicides skyrocketed 270.6% compared to the same time last year.

There were 63 homicide offenses reported from July 2020 through Feb. 2021, but only 17 recorded from July 2019 through Feb. 2020, police data show.

In the first two months of 2021 alone, Portland reported 17 murders -- a 1,600% increase from the single murder reported during the first two months of 2020, Portland Police Bureau statistics show.

But the city also received fewer reports of assault offenses during the same time period compared to last year, records show. There were 5,767 assaults reported from July 2020 through February of this year -- down 6.4% from the 6,159 assaults recorded from July 2019 through February 2020, statistics show.

The past year, 2020, was the deadliest in the city in more than a quarter-century.

City commissioners voted in mid-June to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget in response to concerns about use of force and racial injustice.