Progressive policies that permit rising crime must be stopped – voters in these cities say, ‘Enough!’

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Progressive policies that permit rising crime must be stopped – voters in these cities say, ‘Enough!’

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Let’s get it clear: the hideous crime wave that is gripping our country has nothing to do with COVID-19, as White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has suggested, but everything to do with progressive Democrats curbing law enforcement in our big cities.

This. Got to. Stop.

It must stop largely because policies to reduce what Democrats refer to as “mass incarceration,” which included a no cash bail and looser enforcement of crimes such as shoplifting, is largely being spread as a lie.

AMERICA’S CASH BAIL SYSTEM HAS MANY BUGS, HERE’S A BETTER SOLUTION

The left wants us to believe that hundreds of thousands of people, a disproportionate number of colored people, are being illegally imprisoned for nonviolent crimes. In addition, activists argue that the release of such offenders does not pose a threat to the public.

Neither of these statements is true. First, while some people are in state and federal prisons for crimes categorized as “nonviolent”, it is not necessarily because they were arrested for a nonviolent crime. It is often because they have condescended to a lesser offense. Around 94% of those detained have not been tried but have agreed to a settlement.

For example, a criminal charged with armed robbery could plead guilty to possession of a deadly weapon and apply for a lower sentence. A drug dealer could advocate possession of an illegal substance. A 2015 study shows that in the smaller federal prison system, which housed 226,000 people in 2020, over 99% of those convicted of drugs were charged with trafficking, not just possession. This is how the system works.

In any case, most of the people in prison are there for good reasons. Of the 1.3 million people incarcerated in the state prison system in 2020, more than half – 713,000 – were jailed for violent crimes, including 183,000 for murder and 165,000 for rape and sexual assault. Only 45,000 were charged with drug possession.

We need to stop this madness by voting for candidates who promise to protect law abiding citizens.

As for the release of people charged with violent crimes, we know that the number of relapses is enormous; Almost every day someone already charged with a violent crime, like the defendant in the Waukesha murders, commits another outrageous crime. We have one of the highest relapse rates in the world; 76.6% of prisoners are arrested again within five years.

There is no doubt that some people are imprisoned or serving excessive sentences for the wrong reasons. It is also true that keeping people in jail because they cannot afford bail can be unfair; Prosecutors and judges need to better distinguish between those who pose a threat to society and those who are not.

The Waukesha driver, who was released on $ 1,000 bail, had a history of violence and was recently arrested for running over his child’s mother. Someone should roll their heads because they’re letting them go back on the road.

Our entire criminal justice system is being turned on its head, almost certainly to protect a small fraction of the people who have been accused of mistakenly or who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The urge to abolish cash deposits – even for some murders – and no longer arrest people for crimes such as urinating in public means our streets are dirtier and less safe.

We need to stop this madness by voting for candidates who promise to protect law abiding citizens. That can happen.

In New York City, one of the first cities to dumb down law enforcement and see crime soaring, newly elected Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, defeated his progressive challengers by keeping a promise to restore public safety. Among other things, he advocated “stop, question and search” and said that the approach, if done right, would curb crime.

Similarly, in a recent landslide, the citizens of Atlanta elected a rear-end candidate who promised to combat the rise in crime in that city by increasing the number of police officers and persecuting gangs. The number of homicides in Atlanta is up 59% from 2019; Voters said, “Enough!”

These are promising results and we hope more to come. But public policy should also address the real “causes” of our country’s crime problem. And make no mistake – we have a problem.

The widespread looting in our big cities is a shame and will drive prices so high as businesses pass on the high cost. The theft has nothing to do with pandemic poverty, as Psaki suggests; Retailers report that these are well-organized attacks on businesses by increasingly violent gangs who know they will do little harm if caught.

Homicides are also out of control.

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The murder rate in the US is five times higher than in Germany, and that is based on statistics from 2018. The number of murders in the US rose by 29% in 2019. In 2019, the city of Baltimore had a homicide rate of 58.3 per 100,000 population. The homicide rate in Nigeria, a country our State Department deemed too dangerous? 34.5.

It is true that African Americans, and to a lesser extent Hispanics, are disproportionately incarcerated in the United States. That’s because they commit more violent crimes. To make change we need to address some serious shortcomings, including the obvious: Education.

In many cities, our public schools fail to educate minority children. As Eric Adams recently said, “Sixty-five percent of black and brown children do not achieve proficiency in the Department of Education.” How can we expect minority children to become self-reliant and productive members of society if they cannot read or do arithmetic?

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There are other issues, such as better care for the mentally ill, that could help contain violent crime.

But simply not enforcing the law and allowing criminals to take over our cities is not a solution, and Americans cannot stand it.

CLICK HERE TO MORE FROM LIZ PEEK. TO READ

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/progressive-policies-permit-rising-crime-liz-peek