The following contains content which is editorial in nature and expresses the opinion of the writer, a retired Chief of Police and Law Enforcement Today staff writer.
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WASHINGTON, DC- Even some Democrats no longer believe the narrative that efforts to soften our response to crime are a positive development.
In the case of lifelong Democrat Denise Rucker Krepp, a Washington, DC neighborhood commissioner, she’s had enough and is pushing back against efforts to implement a overhaul in the city’s criminal code to lessen repercussions of crime on criminals, Fox News reports.
Krepp appeared last week on “Fox & Friends First” where she discussed her concerns surrounding the bill and the negative impact it will have on public safety, even as crime rates in the city explode.
“I think it has come down to every single person being impacted, and that’s what’s happening in my single member district where I’ve had a rape and murder, armed carjackings, home invasions, robberies, stabbings, shootings,” Krepp told host Ashley Strohmeir.
She noted that the crime explosion is affecting people across all political persuasions.
“I don’t have enough fingers to count all the crimes that have occurred, and that’s why my constituents are saying enough is enough,” she continued. “We need help. We need more police on the streets. We need more prosecutions.”
Under the proposed reforms, jury trials for misdemeanor offenses would be restored while mandatory minimum sentences would be eliminated with the exception of first-degree murder. It would also enable criminals an easier path to fight for early release.
While overall crime in the nation’s capital is down, certain violent offenses continue to plague the city. To drive the point home, there was an armed carjacking in front of Krepp’s home last week.
“Armed carjackings are though the roof right now,” Krepp said. “We’re at 464 right now this year, so while maybe murders are down, armed carjackings certainly aren’t down, and neither are the other major crimes in the city.
“We’ve got to address that and the laws that the D.C. Council are passing, it’s not helping,” she continued.
Despite the incident in front of her home, Krepp said not a single Democrat on the city council has reached out to her about changing their position on supporting the bill.
“To be honest, I’m very puzzled why they’re doing this,” she said. “I don’t know why you would want to support the early release of rapists and murderers and that’s why I sought help from Congress.
“I believe that rapists should serve their full sentence, and if the D.C. Council wants to release them, fine. Let’s go to Congress and seek their help,” she continued.
Krepp also noted that even if DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is not on board with the sweeping changes, the proposal could still move forward without her approval if the city council decides to push the measure forward.
In light of the rise in crime in Washington, D.C., some businesses have had enough.
For example, City Winery, a popular live entertainment venue and winery in the city, is closing its operation in the Ivy City neighborhood due to the increase in crime and related deterioration in safety conditions for staff and guests.
According to Michael Dorf, CEO of the business, he told “Fox & Friends” last week that the area is no longer safe for his staff or his customers.
Krepp isn’t the only Democrat slamming members of her party for their apparent lack of honesty about the crime problem plaguing the country. Other Democrats have taken to slamming members of their caucus for downplaying the crime problem while suggesting that changes to criminal justice policies are helping that mythical downturn in crime.
For example, earlier in December New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind slammed one of the wokest of the woke U.S. House members, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for downplaying “smash-and-grab” robberies which have exploded in a number of major (Democrat-run) cities.
According to the Washington Examiner:
Former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind took aim at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for doubting the rise of smash-and-grab robberies in the United States.
Hikind said Ocasio-Cortez has been pushing for policies such as defunding the police and bail reform, which Hikind claimed have led to an increase in crime.
“AOC is out of control. I don’t think she’s living on this planet,” he told Fox News. “She’s a danger—I really think she’s a danger. These crimes that are being committed—there are real victims out there.”
Hikind then called on other members of the Democrat Party to take her to task over her denial of reality.
“She is a disaster for the average American because of her policies and the things she advocates for and the fact that so many Democrats are fearful of her and the radical left,” he said. “AOC doesn’t care bout the victims. She cares about the criminal.”
In a recent interview with the Washington Times, the dingy squad member seemed to cast doubt on the rise in smash-and-grab robberies across the U.S.
“A lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out,” she said. “I believe it’s a Walgreens in California [that] cited it, but the data didn’t back it up.”
The Times noted:
She made the claim after scores of videos documented a rash of attacks by rampaging thieves and reports from big-box stores across the country about an uptick in organized retail theft and violence against employees.
Ocasio-Cortez needs to find her statistics somewhere else. According to Talk Radio News, organized retail theft costs retailers about $30 billion per year, with 71% of retailers seeing an increase in such theft. The survey also showed that 92% of companies have experienced at least one instance of organized retail crime.
Such theft also affects the prices consumers pay for goods. One industry executive told the outlet that the cost of stolen merchandise annually is $50 billion per year. Add to that the effect of inflation on top of it and it is easy to see why costs of consumer goods is skyrocketing.
A survey of retailers also showed that the level of aggressiveness of those engaged in retail theft is getting worse, with 57% of respondents saying the level of aggression has increased.
As an example of that, an 82-year-old Home Depot employee, Gary Rasor was killed during a retail theft at the Hillsborough, N.C. store when a man pushed him to the ground while exiting the store with stolen merchandise. Rasor struck his head and ended up dying from his injuries, CBS-17 reported.
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