Violent crime in US metro areas surged this summer amid the pandemic, recession, and social unrest: A perfect storm of distress that is unraveling society.
From Atlanta to Baltimore to New York City to Chicago to Houston to some major Californian metro areas, many of these democratically-controlled cities are facing an eruption in violent crime, including murders and thefts.
Readers may recall some of the cities listed above are the usual suspects when referring to metros with the most out of control crime in the US. Now Portland’s liberal utopia appears to be imploding, as murders in July jump.
Portland Police Bureau has responded to 15 homicides in July, which is a three-decade high, reported The Oregonian. The Portland Metropolitan Area has seen approximately 24 homicides this year. Besides homicides – assaults, burglaries, and vandalism are also increasing over last year’s figures.
Verified Non-Suicide Shootings In Portland
Police Chief Chuck Lovell is concerned by the increase in violent crime. He’s shifted officers from patrols to aid in ongoing homicide investigations.
“That’s very concerning. I mean, to know that that many people have been killed in such a short period of time,” Lovell said at a recent virtual press conference.
At the same time, Lovell said Portland City Hall slashed its budget, which resulted in the massive defunding wave in early July that forced a sizeable cut in its Gun Violence Reduction Team. Also, there’s been at least a month of lawless anarchists destroying property in the area. The federal government sent in personnel to squash the uprising.
Since the Gun Violence Reduction Team was disbanded on July 1, Lovell has repeatedly linked it with the struggle to police the city.
The loss “forced us into a position where we have to really look at what resources we can bring to bear, absent that structure that we had with the Gun Violence Reduction Team,” he said.
In another recent press conference about the rise in homicides, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler admitted the city had seen “an unprecedented escalation of gun violence.”
In the first 12 days of the month, officials witnessed an over 380 percent spike in such violence, compared to the same time period in 2019.
“This is the city we live. Portlanders, our neighbors, are being hurt by this violence. They’re being killed. The violence and the loss of life are unacceptable,” Wheeler added.
Liberal cities, ones that have defunded police and allowed anarchists to run wild, are seeing a perfect storm of distress flare up as the virus-induced downturn has unleashed a social-economic bomb.