End of defund police era? Crime, prosecutorial crackdown in blue and purple states signals shift, experts say
Opinion by Audrey Conklin • 3h
Politicians and pundits have described the 2024 election as a "mandate" for change from the American people after four years of frustration with the economy, illegal immigration and crime, among other factors.
In 2020, local and federal politicians met demands from protesters to "defund" or "dismantle" police departments across the country. Intending to reform the criminal justice system, they passed bills aimed at moving police funds to other entities or changing the way police pursue suspects after George Floyd's murder.
Four years later, however, Americans are frustrated with the state of violent crime in some areas and sought in the 2024 election to give more power and funding to law enforcement.
"We are seeing a huge shift post election now in legislation propositions – even candidates who rejected defunding, they rejected decriminalization, they rejected decarceration," Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokesperson for the National Police Association nonprofit, told Fox News Digital. "And we're really heartened at what we're seeing. This has… been 10 years of progressive, quote-unquote reform, police reform, criminal justice reform."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/end-of-defund-police-era-crime-prosecutorial-crackdown-in-blue-and-purple-states-signals-shift-experts-say/ar-AA1v6Vtd?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=b458ebdb28ab4b7086b8791af74e17b7&ei=137
