“Defund the police” was one of the leading battle cries of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Many leftist politicians quickly discovered it was a political loser, especially considering the surging crime rates under President Joe Biden.
But now Democrats in this Blue state are endangering residents in order to be nice to prisoners.
Biden’s crime problem
Under President Joe Biden’s watch, America is experiencing a massive surge in crime, including violent crime.
At the end of last year, Reuters reported that violent crime was up 40% since 2019.
According to FBI crime statistics, the murder rate in the United States spiked by 30% in 2020 after the Black Lives Matter riots occurred that summer.
In 2021, with President Biden in charge, the FBI says the murder rate jumped another 4.5% on top of the pace in 2020.
The FBI numbers also show property crimes were way up in 2022. as robberies rose 19%, auto thefts increased 15%, and residential burglaries were up 6%.
The root causes of the crime surge
There are three main reasons for the surging crime rates in America.
First, the Black Lives Matter movements’ constant pressure and negative attention on police officers led many to leave the force.
Several major American cities are now experiencing “crisis-level” police shortages, leaving residents less safe.
Second, some of the most “woke” municipalities either defunded their entire police departments, slashed funding for police, or placed new strenuous regulations on law enforcement.
And finally, George Soros-backed District Attorneys and prosecutors have instituted criminal-friendly policies like cashless bail or just completely ignore the rule of law.
And now Democrat legislators in Minnesota want to take their soft on crime approach to even more radical levels.
Democrats want to reduce criminals sentences by half
According to Alpha News, Democratic-Farmer-Labor State Representative Jamie Becker-Finn has introduced a bill that would release convicted criminals after serving just half of their prison sentences.
All the found-guilty inmates have to do to receive this massive reward is participate in certain programming.
Becker-Finn says “game changing” prison reforms are needed in Minnesota.
“If we look at recidivism rates, we know that the current system isn’t working,” Becker-Finn said.
But how cutting criminal sentences in half will reduce recidivism rates has many thinking this is more about being friendly to criminals than anything else.
The programs the criminals would have to enter establish “personal growth” goals for the inmates and give them performance reviews like one would receive at work.
To meet their “personal growth” goals, a prisoner might have to attend mental health classes, substance abuse seminars, or skills training programs.
“What this bill would do is really recognize that each individual person might need something different,” Becker-Finn said. “So that they can thrive when they come back to our communities.”
This extremist bill that will put criminals back on the streets sooner is currently going through the committee process in Minnesota’s House of Representatives.
