Crime is Sweeping Across Portland Following the Death of George Floyd
Jose Nino
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Murders and shootings have soared in Portland following the death of George Floyd.
According to Jeff Reynolds of PJ Media, the death of George Floyd kicked off riots nationwide, with Portland being at the epicenter of this unrest. This came at a time when police departments are under increased scrutiny, defund the police proposals are moving forward, and politicians are pursuing lax on crime policies.
Sean Kennedy, a fellow at Maryland Public Policy Institute who researches crime policy, used numbers from Portland Police Bureau statistics to provide some context to Portland’s current crime wave:
- Since June 2020, there has been a 255% increase in murder in Portland through February 2021;
- Shootings up 173%—by 551;
- Shootings increased 126% in 2020, and Year to Date have increased 93%.
Reynolds observed that from ”January through April 2020, there were a total of three murders in Portland.” Reynolds continued highlighting Portland’s shocking murder numbers:
Just in January and February 2021, we’ve already seen 20 murders. For the period of June 2020 through February 2021, 71 murders have occurred in Portland. That’s a staggering 255% increase over the same period one year prior.
Shooting numbers looked quite alarming as well:
Shooting statistics tell another grim tale. In the period of June 2020 through February 2021, 870 shootings occurred in Portland. For the same period one year prior, Portland saw 319 shootings. That’s a 173% increase.
Kennedy gave PJ Media an overview of the numbers he found:
The lawlessness that Portland experienced this summer directly contributed to the subsequent and dramatic increase in violence—especially homicides. Portland’s political leaders, including Mayor Wheeler and Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt’s contempt for law and order, disempowered and demoralized the police. The result is chaos and death. Over 50 Portlanders did not have to die but for the rhetoric and actions of local officials caving to the mob and attacking the police.
According to Reynolds, “Law enforcement sources in Portland have repeatedly reported that they cannot respond to all violent crimes when the dual forces of defunding the police force and responding to nightly riots handcuff them.”
Because of the increase in crime and the overall decline in the quality of life, Portland Mayor ted Wheeler requested $2 million in order to prevent Portland’s already chaotic state from further spiraling out of control:
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday he would seek $2 million in one-time funding for police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem rampant gun violence in the city.
The move by Mayor Ted Wheeler represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit. The cuts came amid racial justice protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Portland is situated in Oregon, a state that is not amicable to the right to bear arms, thus leaving citizens defenseless against growing levels of criminal activity. To make matters worse, its hub city of Portland is discarding any rational form of policing.
If Portland doesn’t correct course, it will end up turning into another leftist urban center where many residents end up fleeing en masse.
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