A recent WalletHub study has found that the murder rates in the United States’ largest liberal-run cities have surged by 10% since 2021, according to a report from The Blaze.
This rise in homicide rates is believed to be a result of defund-the-police movements and soft-on-crime policies supported by left-wing mayors.
The research compared the murder rates in the 45 most populated American cities from the first three months of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Among the top 10 U.S. cities experiencing the most significant increases in homicide rates are:
- Memphis, Tennessee
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Richmond, Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
- Detroit, Michigan
- Durham, North Carolina
- Dallas, Texas
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Kansas City, Missouri
All of these cities, except Las Vegas, are governed by Democratic mayors.
The study also highlighted that murder rates have been rising more quickly in cities led by Democratic mayors compared to those governed by Republicans.
Chidike Okeem, an assistant professor at Western New England University, believes the spike in homicides can be partly attributed to social unrest and the resulting de-policing.
“As a response to the social unrest, some officers have embraced ‘de-policing,’ which is the idea of not engaging in proactive policing practices in order to avoid increased scrutiny and censure. Without pronounced police presence, violence proliferates,” said Okeem.
In addition to de-policing, defund the police movement, and no-cash bail policies are cited as contributing factors to the rising murder rates by Gregg Etter, a professor at the University of Central Missouri.
He explained, “If you have a problem with police use of force in isolated instances, rather than deal the problem or the problem officers, defund the police. This results in a less-effective police force, increased response times, lower police morale, and an increasing unwillingness by the police to engage in proactive policing.”
