VIDEO: Austin Defunded Police, Now Voters Will Decide if City Needs More Cops

breitbart ^ | 31 Oct 2021 | AMY FURR

[MarvinStinson]

During nationwide protests regarding police reforms last year, the Austin, Texas, city council moved to cut approximately one third of its police budget, which was the largest cut of any big city in America.

Since the cut, Austin has increasingly become less safe.

According to statistics compiled by AH Datalytics, the city has seen a nearly 71% increase in homicides over the past year. While homicides have increased nationwide since 2020, Austin’s increase is one of the largest the firm has tracked.

The funding cuts brought a series of changes. Cadet classes were canceled, making it more difficult to bring more officers onto the force. Certain specialized units were cut back. Attrition soared. By May 2021, police staffing shortages led to a 30% increase in 911 response times.

The council, feeling pressure from an increase in violent crime and a state law penalizing cities that defund police, reversed course and approved a substantial increase in law enforcement funding.

But activists at Save Austin Now think it’s too little, too late. They successfully worked to put a referendum on the ballot which would require the city to keep two officers per 1,000 residents, promote more training, and offer incentives to recruit officers who speak more languages.

In May, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would sign a bill barring cities from defunding their police departments.

In a statement to Breitbart Texas, Abbott said:

Texas has been—and always will be—a law-and-order state. Defunding law enforcement invites crime and chaos into communities, and it risks the lives and livelihoods of innocent people. We will not let Texas cities follow the lead of cities like Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis by defunding the police. Here in Texas, we don’t demonize or defund our law enforcement officers—we support them."

[Mark]

Under cover Social Workers will halt the crime wave.

[WMarshal]

I really do not like the centralization of power even at the state level. Austin should suffer for its idiocy. What Texas to do is enact a law breaking down hugecity states cities like Dallas and Houston into smaller governments that are closer to the citizens and forced to compete against one another for residents. forcibly divide Austin in the two cities and let them compete against one another for residents.

[thegagline]

I live in the Travis Heights section of Austin. There is an incessant barrage of anti proposition A rhetoric on Nextdoor. One of the most profligate posters admitted to receiving money from Soros in the past although not on this particular issue.

The anti proposition A signs outnumber the pro proposition signs about 10 to 1.

[Jamestown1630]

I didn’t realize this until recently, but Virginia has about 38 ‘independent cities’ that don’t belong to any county. (I think it’s the same with the City of Baltimore, in Maryland.)

Let Austin stay weird - and all on its own.

[alexander_busek]

In May, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would sign a bill barring cities from defunding their police departments.

I would oppose such a bill.

A child threatening to hold its breath until it turns blue should be encouraged to do so.

Regards,

[Socon-Econ]

Typical out-of-control leftist capital city. The state needs to step-in to make that city safe for the state government and Republican legislators.

[Carl Vehse]

The Austin woketards voted down Proposition A to fund Austin police at a level of 2 officers per 1000 residents.

Opposition (including the Austin mayor, ‘Adolf’ Adler) hinted that fire and EMS services funding would suffer to pay for the police if the proposition passed.

The day before voting, the local enemedia promote a propaganda that crime was down in Austin, ignoring the fact that, because of shortages, the police are no longer responding to many crimes. Also ignored is that murders in Austin this year are at a new high.

But jaywalking and spitting on the sidewalk are way down, so the city is much safer.