'Left-Leaning Policies' to Blame for Deadly Crime Spikes, National Police Assoc Warns
Police group says 'left-wing' lawmakers causing 'vilification of law enforcement'
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The National Police Association (NPA) has warned that "left-leaning policies" are to blame for the surging deadly crime wave that is sweeping Democrat-run cities across America.
Speaking during a new interview, NPA spokeswoman Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith warns that “left-wing” lawmakers have sent crime and anti-police sentiment soaring.
Smith issued the warning during an appearance on Wednesday's episode of "Unmuted With Marsha," a Facebook show hosted by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
The NPA is a law enforcement advocacy group that educates on police tactics.
The nonpartisan organization aims to build better relationships between officers and the communities they serve.
The sentiment toward law enforcement has been low since the 2020 outbreak of far-left protests against alleged racially biased policing, some of which devolved into Black Lives Matter-led riots and looting.
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Blackburn began asking Smith about the recent crime spikes that have wracked major American cities in the past two years.
Smith said that part of the crime spike is due to the “vilification of law enforcement” that emerged from leftist calls to "defund" or "abolish" police forces.
“We’ve had this war on cops and, quite frankly, a war on the justice system really since 2014, since the justified police shooting of Michael Brown,” Smith said.
"But for the last 19 months, since the death of George Floyd, we have had this vilification of law enforcement."
She added that “left-leaning policies,” that are putting criminals back on the streets, are also driving the surge.
"The de-prosecution, the refusal to prosecute violent criminals and a host of other, quite frankly, all left-leaning policies … have allowed violent criminals back on the street, have allowed police officers to be vilified,” she said.
"So many police officers have left the job or gone to other areas of the country where they are going to be better appreciated.
"And this whole storm, quite frankly, that we have seen for the last 19 months has led to the homicide of 5,000 more Americans in 2021 than in 2020 and 2020 was a terrible year.”
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Some governors have attempted to take advantage of disaffected police officers wanting to leave cities where progressive district attorneys and politicians have instituted more lax criminal justice policies under the name of equity.
Republican governors in states such as Tennessee and Florida have actively promoted their states as pro-law enforcement.
Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has offered police officers $5,000 to relocate to his state.
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Later in the episode, Smith attacked the progressive call for bail reform, which she says is “really a lack of putting someone in custody to either await trial or to even be punished for a crime.”
"We get all these criminals – many who have committed gun crimes, sex crimes, and other terrible felonies – they are released with no bail, and they maybe have an ankle bracelet to monitor them,” Smith said.
"But they are back on the streets to offend again and again and again."
