PHOENIX, AZ– Following the in-custody death of George Floyd in May of this year, the cries to defund the police were loud and widespread.
The fallout from the defund the police movement, has been an increase in crime, along with staffing issues in cities and police departments across the country.
The lack of manpower, coupled with the increase in crime, is leading to police being unable to respond to emergency calls in a reasonable amount of time, or sometimes not at all.
Now, a Phoenix City Councilman, Sal DiCiccio, has issued a dire warning to Phoenix residents about the shortage of police officers and increase in crime, Arizona Daily Independent reported.
DiCiccio says the shortage of officers comes at a time when politicians “want to turn criminals loose.”
In a recent newsletter, DiCiccio said:
“So far this year, Phoenix homicides have increased by 52% – a bigger increase than even New York City,”
Many cities have seen an increase in domestic violence homicides this year, as the pandemic continues to keep people inside. Phoenix is among them—there has been an 175% increase in murders related to domestic violence this year, compared to 2019. https://t.co/6zJnnS4JSt
— Everytown (@Everytown) December 18, 2020
He went on to say:
“Police around the nation continue to be scrutinized and requests for defunding the police continue to be heard. With 64 more domestic violence homicides.”
DiCiccio continued:
“We’re so short of officers, we can’t answer calls on time,”
He added:
“Even though we desperately need more officers, the ones we do have are under constant attack from politicians who want to lock down law-abiding citizens with one hand and turn criminals loose with the other.”
DiCiccio clearly see’s an issue in the current war raging against police officers, and he blames his fellow fellow Councilmembers, Jim Waring and Debra Stark, for not protecting Phoenix’s officers, which in turn is putting its citizens in harms way.
Phoenix Mirrors National Crime Trends: Rape & Robbery Down, Homicides Up | #College. | #Students https://t.co/WncMv1FSwm
— Parent Security (@ParentSecurity) December 18, 2020
When speaking about this matter he said:
“We had a letter that would have sent a reasonable proposal for civilian police oversight to the ballot. Guess who held it up? Jim Waring and Debra Stark refused to sign the letter putting it on the agenda”
He continued:
“instead, their inaction let the crazy leftist control the agenda.”
In an appearance on KFYI’s James T. Harris show, DiCiccio’s Chief of Staff, Sam Stone, discussed the details the newly formed Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT), which is a citizen oversight committee, stating that the committee was created to:
“gut and neuter the police department and put them under the thumb of leftist politicians.”
Stone also described an alternate motion to the proposed citizen oversight committee, stating:
“[an alternate motion], that would have put in place a board similar to OAT, but which would not have damaged the police department. The proposed alternative would have provided additional transparency and accountability,”
The reason why the alternative motion was not considered by the whole Council was due to the fact that Waring and Stark refused to allow it on the Council’s agenda, According to Arizona Daily Independent.
Stone also discussed the fact that the Mayor, Kate Gallego, and Councilwoman Laura Pastor have portrayed that they do not necessarily agree with the “extremes left’s message”, but to appease their cries, they will still go along with it.
Stone asked:
“My question, is how many bodies does the Mayor have to see in the streets before she does something to stand up for our cops?”
This is an ongoing problem all around the country. From New York to California, almost every major city seen an increase in violent crime, especially those departments that chose to disband units and slash police budgets.
The mayors of these cities were quick to condemn officers in order to gain a favorable political stance with the masses, however they are now turning a blind eye to the fact that they have lost control of their cities.
People in police-defunded NYC panic about spike in violent crime, hire private security guards
November 11, 2020
NEW YORK CITY, NY – Pictures show private security guards standing watch over boarded up stores in New York City’s Times Square on Monday, presumably to protect businesses from the increasing amount of destruction and looting.
MRG Agents protecting retail stores in Times Square. NYC Security Guards#mccallriskgroup #NYCsecurity pic.twitter.com/V1PKQ4UJ9w
— McCall Risk Group (@mccallriskgroup) November 9, 2020
Late last week, the company that employs the guards plugged their services in a tweet that read:
“Need Security to protect your building or store 631-664-3300 Armed & Unarmed Guards.”
Need Security to protect your building or store 631-664-3300 Armed & Unarmed Guards pic.twitter.com/VwcVmAdNMh
— McCall Risk Group (@mccallriskgroup) November 3, 2020
The company is McCall Risk Group, and business appears to be good.
The owner told the Wall Street Journal that the private investigation and security firm has seen an uptick in requests from what you could call a less than anticipated client.
He said private citizens have been hiring private security in anticipation of election-related unrest.
Typically, McCall said his clients are operators or owners of retail and office buildings, corporate executives or celebrities. It appears the average Joe is now tapping the same source of security.
McCall told the Wall Street Journal:
“We’ve gotten a significant amount of calls in the past week. Seventy percent of those calls now are from regular, average citizens.”
The media outlet also spoke to McCall Risk Group customer Pasquale Cosenzo.
Cosenzo is a computer programmer who works in Midtown Manhattan and told the Wall Street Journal that he opted to hire private security in order to feel safer on his daily commute.
He said that given the uncertainty still surrounding the presidential election and the recent spike in violent crime in the city, he is not planning to give up the service anytime soon.
Cosenzo said:
“This is something that might have to factor into the cost of doing business. They’re great guys. I hope we never have to use them again in a couple of weeks.
McCall told the WSJ that fears started to fade away after former Vice President Joe Biden was projected as the winner of the presidential election. Even so, he said that some clients are choosing to keep security on hand for days to come.
The decision is unsurprising, given that protests have plagued the city for months.
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says 85 people have been arrested at protests since Tuesday alone.
It has been a downward spiral of peaceful protests turning violent, which began in late May, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Since then, rioters have attacked and spit on police officers, launched objects and incendiary devices at them, set patrol cars on fire, looted and vandalized businesses and buildings, and harassed restaurant patrons.
The wave of civil unrest was coupled with a surge in violent crime after COVID-19 lockdown orders were relaxed.
NYPD statistics show that homicides climbed 30% in the first ten months of 2020, compared to the same stretch last year.
In October alone, the number of shootings had doubled.
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio has publicly said that New York City has been the “safest big city in America for years.” He has also blamed the pandemic for the increase in violent crime.
While de Blasio blamed external factors, there was another important aspect linked to the spike in crime.
Back in June, reports of shootings exploded across the city during the same week that the NYPD disbanded their undercover anti-crime unit.
Law Enforcement Today reported then:
“According to recent data, New York City has seen a recent uptick in shootings since June 15th. It just so happens that on the 15th, the NYPD disbanded their plainclothes anti-crime unit.
“What a strange coincidence to eliminate an anti-crime unit and then see violent crime increase.”
Apparently, there is a direct correlation between a decrease in crime fighters and an increase in crime.
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