Defunding the police movement is not over. The former police chief argued that the department had just taken on a new form that stripped away its aggressive police policies and put officers and law-abiding citizens at risk.
“Defunding the police is not dead. There are police leaders across the country who say defunding the police is over, but that’s not the case,” said Tom Weitzel, former police chief in Riverside, Illinois. said in a Zoom interview with FOX News Digital. “It depends on the geographic region you’re in. But it’s getting faster again, and it’s getting faster in this format as well.”
Weitzel is referring to new moves in jurisdictions across the country to strip police of powers and policies designed to proactively protect communities. Late last month, for example, Pittsburgh city officials announced they would no longer respond to low-priority calls that the police department said did not require an in-person response.
“It’s not a march or a protest or a riot. It’s a deprivation of power. It’s a deprivation of office. Some politicians have come into office and have the power to limit the police’s ability to patrol and investigate. ” Weitzel said.
Illinois ends cash bail, ends ‘back door’ defund drive that causes police escapes: Experts
Tom Weitzel was the police chief in Riverside, Illinois. (Tom Weitzel)
The “defund” advocacy advocated by police following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 has sparked protests and riots in streets across the United States, with protesters calling for defunding of police and non-police forces. They requested that it be replaced with a regional safety plan. A handful of cities, including New York and Portland, heeded the call and stripped some funding from their departments.
Crime began to skyrocket in 2020, with the national homicide rate rising nearly 30%, and soon followed by a trend in bang-up crime on the West Coast and rampant car thefts and carjackings in cities like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. This was followed by a record increase. -By 2022, cities such as Milwaukee and New Orleans will have a high number of murders.
At the same time, police departments across the country are facing severe staffing shortages, with officers filing for early retirement or resigning amid calls for funding cuts in 2020, and overtime as crime rates soar. faced a crisis.
Significant increase in Black Americans killed was a result of police defunding: expert
People hold placards as police march from the King County Youth Jail to City Hall in Seattle on August 5, 2020. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)
Defunded cities quickly withdrew from the movement, calling for defunding of police departments and law and order on the streets.
Weitzel argued that efforts to cut funding continue in the United States, although not in the overt form seen in 2020.
Illinois’ cash bail elimination is based on ‘exaggeration’ by city leaders: former police chief
“They don’t want us to work anymore, and they are definitely the politicians in power, and they have the power to pass legislation to force it,” Weitzel said. said.
“And in Pittsburgh, we’re probably going to have no office staff from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. They’re going to reduce staffing. They’re going to reduce patrols. In Pittsburgh… they want to reduce calls by 200,000. A statement has been issued “For Police Services to the Surroundings.” [50,000]. ”
Smoke rises from a police car fire in Philadelphia on May 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
At the end of February, the city of Pittsburgh introduced several new policies, including a new emergency call system aimed at cutting the average number of calls per year from 200,000 to about 50,000, WPXI reported. Police will respond to active emergencies, but incidents such as theft, harassment and burglary alarms will be handled through a new telephone reporting unit or online form, local media reported.
From 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., the city’s police substations will no longer be staffed by administrative staff. Anyone visiting the station during these hours can call 911 using an outdoor phone. Police officers will now work four 10-hour shifts a week instead of five eight-hour shifts.
Pittsburgh Mayor Larry Sirott told local media last month: “I am confident that we have the people to keep our city safe.” “It’s not an abandonment of service.” The chief added that the change will help officers’ health, and data shows the shift changes are responding to officers at a time when they are needed most by the public. pointed out.
Tom Weitzel returns to work at the Riverside Police Department in 1987 after being shot in the line of duty. (Tom Weitzel)
Weitzel said police stations should always be open and a safe haven for those in need or in danger.
“For years in law enforcement, we tell our residents, ‘Our lobby is open 24/7. It has a secure door, it’s well-lit, and there’s someone sitting in there.’ I’ve always said that even in small towns, when I was chief of police in Riverside, if you’re involved in a domestic dispute or feel like you’re being followed, victims, especially women, call the lobby. Because you can say that you were there at the police station.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, the problem has been alleviated. That’s not the case if you stop having clerks at certain times.”
Weitzel said that when he first joined the force in the 1980s, officers were trained to be out on the streets, interacting with the community and looking out for suspicious activity.
“When I first started working, there was basic training and you were told to go out there and do a job. And literally, you had a training person for probably a month, maybe two months, and they taught you “They taught me how to do a traffic stop. They taught me how to do a search stop,” he said. “You were strongly encouraged that if something seemed out of place at 3 a.m., it was your job and your role to investigate it.
“That’s not happening. In fact, it’s being stopped.”
Former Illinois police chief recalls late-night ‘ambush’ by Chicago gangster who left him dead: Audio
The retired Illinois secretary of state said 2020 was a turning point for recruits applying to become officers. Weitzel, like other police officers before 2020, had long dreamed of becoming a police officer since childhood, and when he heard sirens at his Catholic elementary school, he ran to the window and ruffled the nun’s wings. There have been times.
He said many new hires currently do not have a lifelong desire to become an officer and instead treat the position like a typical office job.
Tom Weitzel was the police chief in Riverside, Illinois. (Tom Weitzel)
“Are we seeing people entering this profession who have always wanted to go into law enforcement? No, we don’t do that anymore. In fact, we used to see veterans entering this profession more often than not. I was watching, but even that went down,” he said.
New hires are now focused on pay, holidays and whether the department has a union contract. Weitzel added that lowering recruitment criteria, such as physical fitness, to shore up the force’s dwindling numbers has also exacerbated the problem.
The former chief cited California, Washington, D.C., and Cook County, Illinois, as areas where local police policies were watered down and crime subsequently increased. He cited policy changes such as Illinois’ SAFE-T law, which eliminated cash bail in the state, and San Francisco, which recently limited the number of people who can be stopped for traffic violations, among others.
New York City Police Academy cadets attend a graduation ceremony at Barclays Center on July 2, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York. (Andrew Barton/Getty Images)
“These decisions are actually costing police officers their lives,” Weitzel said. “I truly believe that the more you take away the authority and respect of the police and our ability to do our jobs, the more police officers will be assaulted.
“Physical assaults are on the rise. The number of police officers being shot and killed in the line of duty is skyrocketing, and some police officers are actually shot and killed, not necessarily in the line of duty.”
Number of police deaths to fall in 2023, but data may mask “increasingly dangerous situations” faced by officers: study
Data from the Fraternal Order of Police, previously reported by Fox News Digital, shows that while the number of police officers killed in the line of duty decreased last year, 2023 will set a record for the highest number of officers shot in a single year, at 378.
“I believe this is all part of the rhetoric that some politicians are putting out…that they’re watering down our profession, watering down what police can do, and believe me, , the criminals know that. …Mix that into the content.” What’s happening in our country right now is this massive influx of immigrants, right? If you embrace that and put that in, it’s going to be explosive,” Weitzel said.
Click here for more US news
A former police chief said Americans who value law and order and public safety should be concerned about the shift away from aggressive policing.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“If you’re concerned about law and order and public safety, you’re supporting the work of the police. You should go to the city council. You should go in front of the city council and talk about it without eviscerating it.” Police give tools to police, not pass stupid bills. And you know, politicians listen to the public and, I believe, the voices of the residents they serve. Because we need to listen,” he said.
