Loud And Clear

The fallout from the November 2024 election continues to reverberate across the country as more analysis rolls in. The voters at the national and local level made their voices heard as it related to crime policies and on the candidates who supported going soft on crime. Ever since the George Floyd riots, law abiding citizens stood by in fear as Black Lives Matter rioters set fires, looted businesses. People had to listen to liberal media sympathizers call these thugs victims of a racist society and thus justified. George Soros went on a jihad against law and order by financing people running for state prosecutors who were willing to go to war with police while minimizing criminality and endorsing policies like catch and release without bail and other reform efforts that reduced some felonies to misdemeanors. There was too much of a focus on police reform that tied their hands and criminal rehabilitation. It led to less policing.

It now appears that the pendulum may be swinging back in the direction of normalcy. People were looking for practical and common-sense enforcement of societies rules and standards of behavior. Even though crime has been rising for the last few years, there is a lag time between the rise in crime and when it starts to affect more people. It is no longer limited in scope to ghetto areas. Here is what we are seeing.

Several local prosecutors saw the handwriting on the wall and chose not to run for re-election. Some were recalled, and others were defeated in a bid to be re-elected. They lost to opponents whose message was to be tougher on crime and push back against progressive ideologies as it related to crime policies.

The pushback was most notable in California which has been ground zero for these insane police reform policies. Oakland Mayor Shang Thao, Alameda j County District Attorney Pamela Price, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Los Angeles County DA George Gascon were all sent packing or recalled by voters fed up with out-of-control crime and violence. Pamela Price has refused to concede so far blaming her defeat on “plutocracy” from wealthy donors supporting her recall saying that a media campaign was to blame according to a news story. She even linked her recall to national policies and the reelection of Donald Trump. Yes, that’s right. When you do not want to deal in reality, blame Trump. The margins by which the tough on crime prosecutors won were in the landslide range.

Even misdemeanor crime rates are rising along with other quality of life offenses. These incidents are damaging businesses whose customers are afraid to patronize brick and mortar stores out fear of being victimized. One report points out that thousands of shoppers have become victims of violence inside stores. This has also led to staffing shortages as people are afraid to work in stores where crime is rampant. A Texas based communication platform reported that 78% of respondents said they feared for their safety and security while shopping in person and expressed frustration that understaffing made them feel less safe from theft and violence.

Major retail stores are shutting their doors because of the thefts. Because of lax prosecution, retail theft has become an organized racket. Stores are keeping more items locked in cases behind counters as a deterrent to thefts. This is an inconvenience for shoppers and signals that thefts are a problem. Capital One has estimated that retail theft losses nationwide will rise from $121 billion last year to more that $150 billion by 2026. Retail outlets are already operating on the margins and cannot absorb those kinds of losses. Major stores are closing their doors because of these staggering losses. Think of the impact of this on the poor and elderly in crime infested areas who now will have to travel farther to get things like medications. The criminal sympathizers either have not taken this into consideration or they simply do not care.

The question now is how fast we can restore order. The things that this war-on-cops has cause are not easily reversed. The first step is to replace all the officers who left through retirements and resignations. Recruiting has been a challenge and hiring has not kept up. Police pay and benefits are going to have to significantly increase as an incentive. According to Glassdoor.com, by the end of their current contract, a full time UPS driver at the top end will make $173,000 in pay and benefits while the average pay for a police officer in large cities is $60,000. For an officer near retirement eligibility, it is more appealing to go drive a truck making deliveries than it is to be rolling around on the ground trying to get some perp in handcuffs or chasing some 17-year-old who runs like they wind fleeing a crime scene. Worse yet, UPS drivers are not being ambushed and killed in the line of duty or experiencing high suicide rates. More time off would increase an officer’s quality of life especially at home.

We have a lot of work to do to turn this around, but the time and conditions are right there. Cops will have growing political support now. The voters showed their support. Let’s show them that they made the right decision.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of America’s Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com