Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, residents in blue cities across the country put intense pressure on city and state leaders to defund law enforcement, and adopt softer punishments for criminals.
Since then, crime in major liberal cities has skyrocketed, leaving Republican lawmakers, residents, and business owners demanding tougher crime policies that hold criminals accountable and improve safety in their communities.
Here is a look at how some blue cities have changed their tune on liberal approaches to crime and if it’s working.
One of the country’s most liberal cities has endured a yearslong crime surge and worsening drug crisis that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, giving San Francisco a reputation for being infested with violence, drugs, and homelessness.
In 2020, Mayor London Breed announced that $120 million would be taken out of San Francisco’s Police and Sheriff’s Department and invested into the city’s black community as part of the defund the police movement that swept the nation in 2020. Subsequently, the city turned to softer stances on crime through organizations such as San Francisco’s Pre-Trial Diversion Project which aids eligible defendants in avoiding jail time if they complete treatment classes.
However, a 2021 report disproved the program’s success, leaving law enforcement officials frustrated.
“The San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project has devolved into an utter farce…” San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association said last year. “Offenders placed on project own recognizance who repeatedly violate the terms are granted chance after chance, creating an environment where criminal behavior thrives…the system inadvertently breeds a culture of impunity, where offenders learn that there are no real consequences for their actions.”
The independent report, which was released after San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted to extend the program, found that 55% of alleged criminals who were released in the city recommitted crimes before trial.
In the years following the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the city experienced an uptick in robberies, including a rise in smash-and-grabs, motor vehicle theft, homicides, and an overall increase in violent crime. Homicides were up in 2021 and 2022, with 56 murders a piece.
What’s more, the city has suffered a dramatic rise in opioid-related deaths, which spiked during the pandemic and has only grown in the years since then, as San Francisco continues to grapple with drug addiction and the proliferation of fentanyl.
As a result, residents approved two measures proposed by Breed that would take a more aggressive stance on the city’s major crime and drug problems. The first measure will require welfare recipients to be screened for illegal drug use before they can receive their cash check. Voters also supported Proposition E, which loosens restrictions on law enforcement and allows them to use public surveillance cameras and drones to tackle crime better.
Last year, Breed also sent more police officers to Union Square to combat retail theft, and the city’s police department began conducting undercover operations to arrest shoplifters.
While the city may still have a long way to go in reducing crime and drug addiction, In January, Breed said she was optimistic about the tougher public safety measures that she had been pushing over the last year, and even touted a 7% drop in reported crimes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Plagued with the same issues as its fellow Bay City, Oakland’s crime and open-air drug dens have taken a turn for the worse in recent years due to similar liberal approaches to crime, including efforts to defund the police, a lack of law enforcement leadership, reduced penalties for certain minor offenses, and District Attorneys who are lenient on punishing criminals.
Just last year, burglaries increased 23%, and motor vehicle theft jumped 44%, with 120 homicides, according to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis.
The city’s rampant crime has largely been blamed on Alameda County’s progressive District Attorney Pamela Price. Last year, the NAACP blasted the district attorney for not seeking harsher punishment when prosecuting criminals.
“Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life-threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals,” the NAACP wrote in a statement at the time.
State and local officials have begun to adopt tougher measures on crime, as residents and advocacy groups continue to put pressure on city leaders to enact change in crime policies.
Oakland’s city council passed a public safety resolution toward the end of last year to help retain staff, specifically at the city’s 911 dispatch, it also requested the FBI to help with investigations, and established permanent neighborhood police officers.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed 120 California Highway Patrol Officers to Oakland to crack down on crime and loaned the city $1.2 million the year prior to focus on improving public safety. At the end of last year, the governor also divvied up a $267 million state investment to local law enforcement across 55 cities to help curb retail theft, but Oakland won’t see that money because city officials missed the deadline to apply for the grant.
From October to the end of February, NBC Bay Area reported there was a 49% decrease in theft, a 63% decrease in auto burglaries, and a 7% drop in robberies, a signal that the measures could be at work
However, Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-CA) told the Washington Examiner that while attempts to combat the state’s crime issues are commendable, they will not completely solve the issue at hand.
“I’m glad to see that some Democrats are feeling the pressure to act on crime and are considering crime reforms at all — that’s progress. However, without tackling Prop 47, these reforms do not get to the root of the problem,” Jones said. “While I support Governor Newsom deploying more law enforcement to crime-infested neighborhoods, this is a band-aid solution that circumvents meaningful change in the law that will prevent crime in the first place. Criminals know there are no consequences in California, and even if they are arrested, they face little to no jail time.”
In February 2023, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed amendments to the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022. The revised legislation broadened the scope for individuals to be eligible for the Second Look Act beyond youthful, convicted, violent offenders to people of all ages, and it reduced the maximum criminal penalties for violent offenses such as carjackings and robberies.
In 2023, D.C. also saw its deadliest year while cities across the country experienced an overall decline in crime rates. D.C.’s crime surge, which caused spikes in homicides, property crimes, and resulted in 959 carjackings, left residents and business owners wanting change.
In an attempt to correct course, Bowser introduced proposals late last year to reverse some of the liberal crime policies that Democrats championed following the summer of 2020. Earlier this month, city council members passed the Secure D.C. Omnibus Amendment Act. Provisions in the bill would allow DNA to be collected on certain felony arrests, and loosen restrictions on law enforcement.
“We need to act now, and we need to send the strong message that violence is not acceptable in our city — and this perception that people have, that you can commit a brazen crime and get away with it, has got to stop,” Bowser told the Washington Post when she introduced the proposal last year. “This legislation will change that.”
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In the early months of 2024, the city’s crime could be trending in a better direction. Violent crime is already down 10% and property crime is down 11% compared to this time last year, according to Metropolitan Police data. Violent crime has also fallen by 12%
While fresh statistics and strategies may indicate a hopeful year ahead for D.C.’s recovery, there is still doubt lingering on whether the city has completely recovered from the crime influx the year prior. Some local officials, under pressure from residents and Republican lawmakers, are uncertain about the effectiveness of the recent crime legislation.