Democrats’ policies of police defunding are showing dangerous results as people are unable to find the police, despite facing surging crimes in blue cities.
Portland is one of the cities most impacted by crime in America, but the shortage of law enforcement officials is increasing the suffering of the locals.
Policing Crisis in Portland Ripening
One Portland resident, Lorretta Guzman, who runs a coffee shop in the city, told Fox News no one could find the police, despite a rapid increase in violent crimes.
Violent protesters vandalized Guzman’s coffee shop just because she advertised her coffee with a police officer, thinking people would be attracted to the photo of a cop in times of crime.
After seeing her shop vandalized, Guzman suggested Portlanders are helpless and angry these days, since they think they have no voice at all.
Where are the Cops? Frustrated Portland residents say police have ‘almost disappeared’ https://t.co/9A5EtZk2rp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 4, 2022
According to FBI data, violent crimes surged by 38% in Portland in 2021, compared to 2020, which is the largest one-year increase in any city in America.
Furthermore, Guzman noted her customers are extremely worried about the drug addicts who frequently trespass on other people’s property.
Likewise, almost everyone is asking the whereabouts of the police to get legal protection amid the rising wave of crime, but officers are nowhere to be found, Guzman added.
The latest policing crisis in Portland is also evident from the response time of the law enforcement agency.
In October, the average policing response time in Portland was 20.4 minutes for high-priority calls, which is the slowest in any city in America. As per the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), high-priority calls are those where expensive property or human life is in immediate danger.
Similarly, Michael Fesser, the founder of the non-profit criminal justice reform group, Going Home II, established the police only appear on crime scenes when investigating dead bodies.
First – the PD was defunded. Then Antifa took over downtown, were arrested and turned loose. Then many of the PD left for other states where they would be respected and treated well. A beautiful City has been ruined. Who did they Vote for? @PortlandPolice https://t.co/HmStdpKkqN
— moonlight_3 (@3moon_light) November 4, 2022
Traffic Police Also Faces Staff Shortage in Portland
Earlier this year, a Portland survey found 51% of locals do not believe they will get a quick response from a 911 call.
One of the prominent reasons for the absence of police from Portland communities is the declining number of people willing to serve in the department.
A spokesperson of the PPB stated almost 250 police officers have either resigned or retired from the Portland police department in the last two years.
Meanwhile, Portland is also facing a traffic police shortage, which is disturbing law enforcement on roads as well.
Reportedly, Portland roads are filled with speed racers, but the PPB has repeatedly established it cannot respond to these events, due to staff shortages.
For a number of times, Portland police have blamed deadly road accidents on speed racers, but they are still roaming free, due to the policing crisis in Portland.
The liberal administration of Portland defunded the city police department after George Floyd’s murder.
This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.
