Sources:
-
- Zev Cook “Defund the police” quote: X post, Oct. 15, 2022 (screen shot)
- Duh! Study shows ‘defund the police’ resulted in more killings by Jason Johnson and Sean Kennedy, The New York Post, May 6, 2025. (The study included Seattle, “the only city [among the 15 included] that did not see any increase in police enforcement. Seattle police make 60% fewer stops [in 2024] than they did in 2019 while the murder rate is 50% higher. The city’s experience provides a useful, if tragic, counterfactual that proves the impact of re-policing on murders.”
- Data shows ‘Defund the Police’ movement fueled crime crisis in mid-size cities, activist says by Jackson Walker, Fox 11 News/WLUK, October 4, 2023
- How ‘Defund the Police’ Failed by Ernesto Londoño, The New York Times, June 16, 2023
- Homicide spike inundates cities that slashed police funding by Jeff Mordock, Washington Times, April 4, 2021 (PDF)
- Academic study showing a direct causal connection, “a 10% decrease in police presence at that location [a specific area of Dallas, TX] results in a 7% increase in crime.” (Weisburd, S. Police Presence, Rapid Response Rates, and Crime Prevention. The Review of Economics and Statistics 2021; 103 (2): 280–293.)
- Another academic study showing a direct causal connection, “Each additional police officer prevented 4 violent crimes and 15 property crimes.” (Steven Mello, More COPS, less crime, Journal of Public Economics 2019; 172: 174-200.)
- Study connecting defunding police to gang violence: Braga, Anthony A., John M. MacDonald, and George Tita, Defund the Police? Considerations for Reducing Gang Violence, in David C. Pyrooz, James A. Densley, and John Leverso (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society, Oxford Handbooks (2024; online edn, Oxford Academic, 23 Jan. 2024).
- Defunding the Police in Real Life: How Did This Work for Oakland?, United Police Fund: Slashing the Oakland Police Department’s funding by 50% in 2021 resulted in “A Tornado of Crime,” including “a staggering 37% in increase” in home burglaries and “skyrocketing” property crime.
