Cop budget cuts after Black Lives Matter & Defund The Police protests have ‘led to 710 murders & 3,000 gunshot victims’
THE SLASHING of police budgets earlier this year has reportedly led to 710 more murders and more than 2,800 additional gun shot victims.
New research published earlier this month sites that major cities across the country "have suffered dramatic spikes in homicides."
"At this rate, 2020 will easily be the deadliest year in America for gun-related homicides since at least 1999, while most other major crime categories are trending stable or slightly downward," writes Paul Cassell, a professor at S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.
According to , Cassell calls this rise in crime "the Minneapolis effect."
The phrase calls back to the city council decision in Minneapolis to vote to dismantle the police and slash the budget after the death of George Floyd.
"Reduced proactive policing (sometimes referred to in the academic literature 'de-policing') is the most logical explanation for the recent homicide spikes," Cassell said.
The National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice released a study in July that found rises in homicides, aggravated assault and gun assaults starting in late May in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Detroit.
The Daily Mail reported that violent crime, including domestic aggravated assault was up nearly 15 percent in the first night months of this year.
Homicide has increased by 87 percent, from 30 last year to 56 this year.
Arson has also increased by 82 percent over the total in 2019.
In New York City alone, shootings were up 166 percent in August compared to August 2019, police crime statistics revealed.
According to the data, there were 242 shootings last month compared to 91 the same month the year before.
Murders increased by 47 percent with overall crime increasing by 0.7 percent.
Minneapolis has also seen a rise in homicide, robbery, arson and other crimes.
Daily Mail reports that the city has had more than 400 shooting victims and 59 homicides this year so far.
In an interview with Fox9, Cassell said the country is seeing a reduction in "proactive policing" and seeing homicides and shootings "skyrocketing" as a result.
"If this thesis is correct, it is reasonable to estimate that, as a result of de-policing during June and July 2020, approximately 710 additional victims were murdered and more than 2,800 victims were shot," he wrote in his study.
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"The data also pinpoint the timing of the spikes to late May 2020, which corresponds with the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis and subsequent anti-police protests—protests that likely led to declines in law enforcement," Cassell added.
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In the study he warns policymakers to proceed with caution before "defunding the police."
New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Portland are among the cities that have .