After so-called "progressive prosecutors" implemented supposedly "equitable" standards in response to widespread violence in the summer of 2020 that caused upwards of $2 billion in damage across the country, the natural consequences of soft-on-crime policies followed: more crime and more victims.
Democrats continue to insist that their embrace of such lenient policies and programs — ones that treat perpetrators as victims while pushing actual victims to the margins — have not, in fact, caused more crime. Democrats say that "progressive" policies have actually helped reduce crime and claim FBI crime statistics prove as much. But that's a scam, just like pretending treating violent criminals with kid gloves will reduce crime, and Americans are increasingly fed up.
Despite Democrat attempts to paper over the deadly effects of their soft-on-crime policies, Americans are — in increasing numbers — rejecting "progressive" criminal justice principles.
This month, Gallup released the results of a survey asking Americans about their views on the nation's criminal justice system, and whether they think it's too lenient, too tough, or just about right. Unsurprisingly, and in a rebuke of Democrat messaging, a clear majority said we need to be tougher on criminals.
According to Gallup, 58 percent of Americans "say the U.S. criminal justice system is not tough enough in its handling of crime," a data point that is "a sharp reversal from the prior reading in 2020 when a record-low 41% said the same." Among solely Democrats, who are more divided than Republicans on the issue, a plurality — 42 percent — still believe the criminal justice system is not tough enough.
So why aren't Americans — even voters in Biden's party — buying Democrat spin? Well, because it's just not true.
As Katie has noted in reporting on the Biden administration's claims that crime is falling, the data they cite is instead entirely unrepresentative of crime nationwide. According to the Marshall Project, some 40 percent of law enforcement agencies didn't report any crime data to the FBI in 2021.
Among the cities failing to report crime to the FBI's statistics unit: New York City and Los Angeles. In addition, "most agencies in five of the six most populous states" also failed to report, including those in California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
The result: the FBI's data — relied upon by Democrats in their claims of falling crime — can't be used to accurately determine how crime is trending in the country. It means determining murder, arrest, release, and other rates can't be calculated to reach a conclusion. As the Marshall Project noted, this "data gap will make it harder to analyze crime trends and fact-check claims politicians make about crime, and we'll likely have to live with greater uncertainty for at least a couple of years."
What's more, a recent analysis of localized murder rates by the Heritage Foundation — the kind of data not being reported by many big (and blue) cities to the FBI for their nationwide statistics — showed that 27 of the 30 cities with the highest murder rates in the country are run by Democrat mayors. Many such Democrat leaders have embraced, endorsed, and advocated for soft-on-crime policies — with clearly deadly consequences.
"Those on the Left know that their soft-on-crime policies have wreaked havoc in the cities where they have implemented those policies," the report from Heritage underscored. "It is not hard to understand why 'reforms' such as ending cash bail, defunding the police, refusing to prosecute entire categories of crimes, letting thousands of convicted felons out of prison early, significantly cutting the prison population, and other “progressive” ideas have led to massive spikes in crime —particularly violent crime, including murder — in the communities where those on the Left have implemented them."
Things have gotten so bad that, just a few weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say whether the Biden administration thinks it's safe enough in Washington, D.C. for Americans to visit their capital city.