Calls to defund law enforcement in many major U.S. cities spiked following the death of George Floyd due to excessive force while in the custody of Minneapolis police in 2020.
The Council on Criminal Justice studied a number of major cities – not all cities reported monthly data for each crime – and found that in 2021 homicide rates for the cities in the survey had increased by 44% compared to 2019. That represented an additional 1,298 deaths, the data showed. Assault and robbery rates were also higher.
In the same approximate window of time, many major cities – New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Texas and Baltimore among them, according to reports – made cuts to police funding.
Five years later, as many officers gathered this week in Washington to celebrate Peace Officers Memorial Day, there’s been a slow healing in relationships between communities and law enforcement. That's according to Jason Johnson, the president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund and the former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, who was interviewed Thursday on Washington Watch.
Since the Floyd incident, the problem has been perception and how police have been portrayed by many media and public officials, Johnson told show host Tony Perkins.
Many groups and individuals in those circles created issues with “the perception that has been peddled about law enforcement that has promoted the idea that law enforcement is either unnecessary or actually harmful to communities,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that’s ever been the case, but the further away we get from 2020, I think the better place we are as a profession.”
Even at the height of “defund police” cries, “the problem really never has been the relationship of law enforcement and community on the ground where it matters most,” Johnson said.
It’s “absolutely a fact” that homicide rates in some of the major U.S. cities are falling, he said.
What happens when police leave you alone
A recent report by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund connects falling homicide rates with “proactive” policing, meaning more police interactions such as roadside stops or similar responses.
In 2020 and 2021 proactive policing saw sharp declines, Johnson said, roughly 40% in 15 major cities studied. That coincided with an increase of homicides by 54%, he added.
“So there really is a link between the two,” he said.
As there was a link when proactive policing went away, there’s a link between its return and increased safety.
“We've seen an increase at about 37% in those measures of policing proactivity, and we've seen a resulting decrease in homicides overall at about 32%. And some cities much better than that,” Johnson said – adding: “The business of policing has returned.”
Healing is real … but it's slow
Peace Officers Memorial Day is observed May 15 of each year to honor federal, state and local law enforcement officers. It’s part of National Police Week, which this year runs from May 11-17. The week was first recognized in 1962, a proclamation of President John F. Kennedy.
Blue states like Maine and red ones like Idaho directed flags at state institutions to be flown at half-mast. In Jackson, Mississippi, a 5K run is scheduled for Saturday as a way to honor current and fallen police officers.
"It is so important that we recognize our fallen officers and their families for their sacrifice so the rest of us can live in safety and peace. Day in and day out, our law enforcement officers walk from their homes and head to work knowing full well the dangerous situations they could encounter in a typical workday. Their willingness to confront those dangers in their service to our communities and our state deserves our gratitude,” Idaho Governor Brad Little said.
The healing between police and communities is real, but it’s also slow. There are still residual effects from 2020-2021, most visible perhaps in efforts to recruit new police officers. Words and images matter, and young people are rethinking career choices.
“The feelings are getting better, but the biggest vestige of what we saw is [now] the lack of interest in young people entering the law enforcement profession which, of course, we believe is just a byproduct of all the negative messages out there,” Johnson said. “That’s the biggest thing that we still need to overcome.”
How to defeat the old message
The only thing that can defeat the old message is a new one, Johnson said. “We need to rebuild morale within law enforcement, and we also need to hold up law enforcement as a calling, as the noble profession that it is.”
Set aside times of recognition like National Police Week help by “showing the community that law enforcement is in fact a noble profession that still upholds ideals that we hold sacred … honesty, integrity, service to the community.
“That’s what has drawn so many people over the decades to this profession. Hopefully we’ll return to that very soon,” he said.
