Another progressive city sorely regrets its 'defund the police' efforts — even the council member who proposed the effort admits things are not going as planned



The "defund the police" movement in Burlington, Vermont, has failed so dramatically that even the progressive council member who initially pushed the effort now admits the city messed up, NBC News reported this week.

What are the details?

It's been nearly 18 months since the liberal northeastern city abruptly passed a resolution to slash its police force by 30%, remove resource officers from schools, shift police funding to social justice initiatives, and create a committee to review what institutions are actually needed to "build a healthy and safe community." Presumably, a traditional police force would not be part of the committee's conclusions.

The resolution was a quick response to the police killing of George Floyd intended to prevent police brutality against black residents while forging a new, more community-driven approach to public safety. Instead, it led to a mass exodus of officers and lower quality of life for the city's residents.

"Almost a year and a half later, no one, it seems, is happy. Not even the city councilor who proposed the resolution," NBC News stated after interviewing key officials involved in or affected by the effort.

“We’re in a situation that I think nobody wanted us to get to,” Councilor Zoraya Hightower, a member of the locally dominant Progressive Party, told the outlet. She acknowledged the effort has brought with it some "unintended consequences."

NBC was shocked that the Defund the Police movement they pushed actually hurt the community of liberal Burlington, Vermont. "Often just five officers are on shift for a city of more than 44,000 after Burlington's leaders cut the police force by nearly 30 percent."pic.twitter.com/Y83ilcXPdH
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@Nicholas Fondacaro) 1639703567

The upstart politician had been elected to the council only three months before, in a wave that gave progressives a plurality representation. Her resolution, rather than emerging from painstaking deliberation with fellow council members, was mostly copied and pasted from an activist group called the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance.

What else?

The effects of the resolution were felt immediately. Rather than 30% of the police force leaving through attrition, as was intended, officers, feeling spurned by the city and underappreciated, left in droves.

Before the defunding, the 44,000-resident city had roughly 95 active-duty officers, but today there are only around 64, NBC News reported. The rapid decrease in numbers means that only about five officers are available to patrol at night, and overtime costs for the department have skyrocketed.

The department was forced to cut key positions, including an emergency response officer and a street crime team that investigated robberies and drug activity. Police response times also slowed significantly, leaving residents caught in less serious emergencies more vulnerable.

Business owners downtown complained to the outlet that staff no longer feels safe at night due to the lack of a police presence. Other residents feel that the quality of life in the city has deteriorated, as help for those suffering from mental health issues has vanished.

Though crime data for the last year has yet to be released by the FBI, many believe criminal activity has risen, especially burglary, vehicle thefts, and drug abuses. Besides, even if crime data eventually shows incidents are down, it could be that the smaller police force has simply not been able to keep up.

Anything else?

The city's Democratic mayor, Miro Weinberger, who didn’t support cutting the force, told NBC, “There’s a lot of damage that has been done in the last 16 months."

Despite complaints from the public, in August, the council once again rejected a measure to raise the hiring cap for police officers. Instead, they approved a measure to hire "community support liaisons," or social workers, to help support police efforts. But that didn't help either.

Then in September, the council backtracked on its efforts, offering to pay officers handsomely to convince them to stay and ward off the exodus. But the damage had largely been done.

Here's the full segment that aired on NBC News:

Inside Vermont’s Police Reform Effort www.youtube.com

In Seattle, 34 more officers ditch the force as city slashes police budget for a second time



An additional 34 police officers have exited the Seattle Police Department since October as the city council voted to slash the police budget for a second time.

According to Jason Rantz of KTTH-TV, the latest exodus brings the total number of separations since the start of this year to a historic high of 144, with "scores of other [officers] still applying elsewhere." Rantz said rumors are swirling internally that separations could hit 200 by the year's end.

The news comes as the Seattle City Council approved the city's 2021 budget on Monday, in a move that shrank police department funding by 18%, KING-TV reported. The budget cuts are expected to affect overtime pay and training while leaving dozens of vacant jobs unfilled and moving 911 dispatchers and parking enforcement out of the department's jurisdiction.

"I am sad and yet, I'm not surprised that many of the great human beings that do the job of policing in Seattle are still leaving SPD at an alarming rate," Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) President Mike Solan told KTTH-TV. "It saddens me because I'm witnessing a professional police agency revered by many fall victim to radical activism that is swallowing Seattle."

Under the new budget, millions of dollars that previously funded the police department will now go to community programs. Activists applauded the new budget, though it fell far short of their goal of cutting police funding by 50%.

"These are all really exciting things that have been won after many, many years of mobilizing and partnering together," said Nikkita Oliver, a prominent local activist. "They've been won because of the uprising and defense of black lives, and the many people who put their feet to the ground, who have made calls, sent emails, and organized their communities."

Councilwoman Lisa Herbold, who originally campaigned on hiring more officers, said, "Our work to shift the public safety response away from police, is a beginning to address our nation's shame in that history of policing."

In response, Solan called the city council "naïve" and argued the budget cuts would ultimately make the city even less safe.

"You're going to see crime rise, we're already seeing increased homicide rates that we haven't seen in decades," he said.

The Seattle Police Department is now dangerously understaffed. The number of deployable officers now sits at approximately 1,200, which is lower than it was in the 1990s despite the population increasing by 44% since then. According to KTTH-TV, the mayor's office said in the coming months that number could drop even further, to 1,072.