The political movement, “defund the police,” gained mainstream popularity during the George Floyd protests in May of 2020. All sides of the political spectrum have added their voices to the debate regarding the defunding of police and their role in society. In the wake of such debate, many cities have begun to make changes in the way their police maintain and support peace and safety in our communities.

Police are often asked to fill roles that they are ill-equipped, poorly trained, and unprepared to resolve effectively. This includes mental health emergencies, welfare checks, social and humanitarian work, and non-violent conflicts. Police are trained to resolve violent conflicts as quickly and as efficiently as possible. They are trained to investigate crime and treat any situation as a life-or-death conflict. The skills police need to succeed in these situations do not transfer well to other situations to which society often asks them to respond.

However, the slogan, “defund the police,” has received criticism for being too vague with its goals. Expert researchers, including active and retired police officers, have suggested that a better name would be “reallocation of police budgets” since that better describes what social activists actually want. Therefore, “defund the police” aims to reallocate some of the budget police organizations use to respond to these events to professionals and organizations that are better equipped and trained to resolve them. This includes mental health professionals, EMTs, psychologists, and education programs, among others. With these goals in mind, cities have begun to implement their own versions of police budget reallocations. 

Representative Jim Jordan released a list in 2023 of 20 cities that had defunded their police departments, however, his list did not account for reversals and other impacts on city budgets. Using budgets announced by cities for 2021, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed many of the cities on Jim Jordan’s list, including some he did not include, along with a breakdown of their police budgets for 2021 and their crime rates. It bears noting, however, that almost every city in the United States experienced a spike in violent crime in 2020, even as overall crime rates continued to drop. Researchers at the National Library of Medicine point to the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the illness itself, as a primary factor in this rise in violence.

Why This Matters

24/7 Wall St. wants to help you better understand how civil and political unrest can affect your monetary decisions. We’re writing this article to give our readers a sense of which cities in America have a greater potential for political, economic, and social issues. Crime – whether it is perpetrated by a civilian or a law enforcement agent – has the potential for local economic instability, affecting business and property values. If a city is seen as dangerous or unwelcome, that city’s local businesses, labor pool, and housing market all potentially suffer.

Scroll below to see 22 cities that defunded police and their current crime rates:

22. Detroit

• Detroit’s police budget: On average, Detroit’s spending on police has been on par with other cities of its size, about 30% of their general budget for the year. Police spending reached its lowest point in 2020 following a small increase in 2021 before another decrease in 2022.

Detroit’s Crime Rate:

Detroit’s violent crime rate has been falling gradually for a number of years. Homicide rates increased sharply in 2021 and 2022, but Detroit is now on track to have its least violent year ever. The Detroit Board of Police announced that officers would no longer be allowed to use chokeholds or to fire at or from a moving vehicle, and additional requirements for officers to report when they use excessive force.

At the state level, Michigan passed a law that would require additional screening of implicit bias and mental health for officers and training on de-escalation techniques.

21. Louisville

• Louisville’s police budget: For their 2021–2022 budget, Louisville reallocated $2.9 million from the city’s “deflection” program, which sends alternative professionals to mental health emergencies other than police, and gave it to Emergency Services, the agency that actually handles the dispatch calls. The actual police budget remained unchanged and will actually have additional funding due to increased government revenue from the previous year.

Louisville’s Crime Rate:

Louisville experienced a crime wave that started in 2020 and continued into 2021. It was the highest rate of homicides the city had experienced in decades. In 2022, however, Louisville had a lower rate of gun violence than in 2021 and 2020, while the state overall has seen a significant drop in homicide rates overall.

Additional changes include the passing of Breonna’s Law which bans no-knock warrants and requires officers to turn on their body cameras before executing any search warrant.

20. Milwaukee

• Milwaukee’s police budget: The police budget was largely unchanged in the 2021–2022 budget. The only change was reducing the planned increase of the police force. According to Mayor Tom Barrett, they planned to increase the police force by 160 fewer than usual.

Milwaukee’s Crime Rate:

In 2020, Milwaukee broke its own record of homicides per year with 189 killed. That record was again broken in 2022 with 214 homicides. Milwaukee has long been one of the ten most dangerous cities in America due to rampant poverty, unemployment, and income inequality. It is the second-poorest city in the United States.

Additional changes made to legislation include a ban on chokeholds and neck restraints, pepper spray at peaceful protests, and requiring officers to adjust a person onto their side once they are handcuffed.

19. Dallas

• Dallas’s police budget: Dallas has continued to increase its budget year over year. In 2021, that trend remained relatively uniform. Dallas only cut $7 million from the unplanned overtime budget for police. Additional funding was then allocated to the police budget to allow for EMS and mental health professionals to accompany police officers on calls to relevant emergencies.

Dallas’s Crime Rate:

A law was passed in 2020 that requires Dallas police officers to intervene if they witness a fellow officer using excessive force. After a crime spike in 2020 and 2021, Dallas has seen a noticeable drop in crime for 2022.

18. Los Angeles

• Los Angeles’s police budget: The Los Angeles police force has undergone significant reform and changes from its corrupt and violent version just a couple of decades ago. The city council voted to reallocate $150 million from the police budget, which totaled $1.86 billion before the cuts. This $150 million will instead be allocated toward summer youth programs, workforce development, avoiding further city furloughs, the city’s human and civil rights department, and investment into communities of color. The city voted to increase the police budget in 2022 and 2023.

Los Angeles’s Crime Rate:

Violent crimes like aggravated assault, rape, and homicides dropped significantly in 2023. However, non-violent crimes like theft and burglary have seen double-digit increases.

17. Oklahoma City

• Oklahoma City’s police budget: In its 2021–2022 budget, Oklahoma City actually increased its police operations budget from $204.4 million to $211.2 million. Part of this increase is being allocated to two new initiatives. The first is the hiring of civilians for safe tasks like data analysis instead of using officers, and the second is the development of an alternative force to respond to mental health crises which would be staffed by mental health professionals, this would take $300,000 of the budget increase.

Oklahoma City’s Crime Rate:

Violent crime has decreased steadily in the last couple of years in Oklahoma City. There was a 20% drop in homicides from 2020 to 2021 and another 6.1% decrease from 2021 to 2022. Violent crime overall has decreased since the 2020 spike. Property crime dropped by 11% from 2021. Other changes in legislation in 2022 included a series of reforms in how police respond to and resolve conflict. They implemented new de-escalation policies and created a response team to respond to mental health crises.

16. Long Beach

• Long Beach’s police budget: For fiscal year 2021, Long Beach was facing a projected $20 million deficit. It was expected that almost every department would face budget and personnel cuts in order to make ends meet. This included the police budget. In the end, Long Beach had to cut $10.3 million from its police budget, they eliminated 20 positions and transitioned another 34 into civilian roles. The city also voted to move funds and officers from other departments and budgets to make up for the cuts.

Long Beach’s Crime Rate:

Through the year 2021, overall crime in Long Beach increased by 7.7%, while murder and property crime decreased. This trend seems to be continuing through 2022.

15. Philadelphia

• Philadelphia’s police budget: Going into 2021, Philadelphia also faced a significant budget deficit of $749 million caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The city cut $33 million in police funding from its final budget. For their 2021 budget, they reallocated $45 million for affordable housing and social services that address poverty.

Philadelphia’s Crime Rate:

Philadelphia saw a significant jump in violent crime, especially homicides, in 2020 and 2021, but that rate fell sharply in 2022. In 2023, there has was a 23% decrease in homicides. Legislative measures in policing included banning chokeholds and kneeling on a person’s neck.

14. Boston

• Boston’s police budget: Boston cut about $12 million dollars from their 2021 police budget, approximately 3% of the total allocation. They also voted to ban police from using facial recognition technology. The budget passed by a narrow vote after some councilors complained that the cuts should have been larger and more money reallocated toward health and social services, especially for those that serve minority populations.

Boston’s Crime Rate:

Overall crime in Boston fell sharply after the COVID-19 surge, with rapes dropping by 25.8% and residential burglary dropping 15.8%. There were 41 homicides in 2022 compared to 40 in 2021. Total crime dropped by 1.5% and shooting incidents dropped by 12.6% from 2021.  

13. Baltimore

• Baltimore’s police budget: After a series of large protests and demonstrations, Baltimore voted to reallocate approximately $22 million in police spending. The change was largely symbolic as Baltimore spends over $500 million each year on its police force, but community leaders are hopeful it is a sign of change to come. The cuts include unplanned overtime, the city’s mounted unit, the marine unit, and delaying the opening of new community intelligence centers.

Baltimore’s Crime Rate:

Homicide rates in Baltimore are at their lowest rate since 2018, and rates of shootings, and property crime are all also at four-year lows. The rates of larceny and carjacking increased from 2021 to 2022, however. Additional legislative measures passed include bans on chokeholds, encouraging officers to intervene when their coworkers use excessive force and whistleblower protections for officers who see and report on uses of excessive force.

12. Portland

• Portland’s police budget: In 2020, Portland cut almost $16 million from its police budget. The police bureau had received a total of $244 million the year before. Most of the cuts were due to budget shortfall, like most other cities, but community activists were hoping for more intentional cuts of up to $50 million. A year after the cuts, Portland made plans to increase the police budget by $7 million for 2022, including funds for body cameras, and 100 unarmed community specialists who would respond to low-level calls.  

Portland’s Crime Rate:

Portland saw a record-breaking increase in crime starting in 2019 that continues today. In fact, homicide rates rose 207% from 2019. Low-level crime also increased year over year.

11. San Francisco

• San Francisco’s police budget: In 2020, San Francisco Mayor Breed pledged to cut $120 million from the police budget and reinvest that money into the community including low-income housing. Those cuts never happened. The city approved a reallocation of $60 million which would be sent to the Department of Public Health to help deal with COVID-19, women of color who were struggling through pregnancy, and public housing. However, those cuts happened after an increase of approximately $62 million to the police budget. In the end, the police budget increased each year since the initial announcement, growing by about 4.4% from 2019 to 2022.

San Francisco’s Crime Rate:

According to the San Francisco Police Department Crime Dashboard, crime increased by roughly 13.8% from 2020 to 2021. Robberies and burglaries decreased slightly while human trafficking, larceny theft, and homicide rose.

10. Chicago

• Chicago’s police budget: Chicago has increased its police budget every year except for 2021. That year, in response to community outrage, the city decreased its budget from $1.76 billion to $1.71 billion. Today, the budget is set to increase to $1.99 billion for 2024. This doesn’t account for the increase of police-related settlements to victims of police violence or constitutional violations. The city budgeted $329 million for the period of 2012–2021 but ended up paying $639 million.

Chicago’s Crime Rate:

The year 2021 was the city’s deadliest year in 25 years, and in 2023, almost all crime has seen an increase except homicides. While homicide dropped from 2021 to 2022, it remains at a high point for the decade. Overall, crime has increased by 13% in 2023 of 2022.

9. Washington, D.C.

• Washington, D.C.’s police budget: The nation’s capital passed a budget that included a $15 million reallocation of the 2021 police funds. Most of the money was redistributed to other public safety efforts not associated with law enforcement. The city’s police department exceeded its 2020 budget by $41.4 million, which was a factor in determining the cuts for 2021. The $15 million cut is a small fraction of the $569 million budget for the year, which was still bigger than their 2020 budget of $559 million. Even with the cuts, the police budget ended up staying about the same.

Washington, D.C.’s Crime Rate:

All crime in Washington D.C. has been increasing for several years, even before the 2019 pandemic. Homicide rates reached a 20-year high in 2023. The rise in crime and gun crime increased the most in poor neighborhoods.

8. New Orleans

New Orlean’s police budget: New Orleans approved an 8% reduction in police funding for 2021, about $16 million less than the year before. City officials say the reason for the cut was due to the impact of the pandemic, not a response to calls for defunding. In fact, the Police Superintendent told the city council that his department was prepared to face their share of the budget cuts. Other government departments face much larger cuts of up to 20% of their usual budget.

New Orleans Crime Rate:

Crime in New Orleans remains incredibly high. Homicide rates skyrocketed in 2022 before falling again in 2023. The drop in homicides beats the national trend downward, but experts are not sure why, yet it still remains much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

7. Salt Lake City

• Salt Lake City’s police budget: In 2020, the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to reallocate $2.5 million from the police budget to social workers and put an additional $2.8 million into a holding account while a new Commission on Racial Equity and Policing provides input on how best to use the funds. The city did increase funding in some public safety budgets not directly related to the police budget, such as $1.3 million for body cameras.

Salt Lake City’s Crime Rate:

In 2023, Salt Lake City reached its lowest crime rate in seven years. Violent crime has fallen by 16.4% and property crimes have fallen by 15 percent between 2021 and 2022. Compared to their 9-year average, overall crime has dropped by 23%.

6. Hartford

• Hartford’s police budget: Hartford cut $1 million from its 2021 fiscal budget, about a 3.5% reduction from the previous year. The funds would instead be reallocated to the Public Works Department, the Department of Children, Families, Youth and Recreation, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Hartford’s Crime Rate:

In 2022, Hartford reached its highest rate of homicides in over 20 years. The city remains much more dangerous than comparable cities, and crime exceeds the national average. According to the police, the actual number of shootings has fallen since previous years, but the number of homicides has increased dramatically.

5. Norman

• Norman’s police budget: The Norman City Council reallocated $865,000 from the 2021 police budget, about 3.6% of the $23 million previously budgeted. According to the city, $630,000 will be sent to various community development programs, and the remaining $235,000 will be assigned to a new internal auditor who will track police overtime and outlays. The cut is a far cry from the initial proposal of $4.5 million.

Norman’s Crime Rate:

Overall crime in Norman has been on a downward trajectory ever since 2012, reaching its lowest point in 2021. Property crime, larceny, and burglary have all continued downward. Violent crime, on the other hand, has been steadily climbing in that same time period but has remained stable since 2020. There have been no other significant changes in the crime rate in Norman.

4. Seattle

• Seattle’s police budget: Seattle voted to cut $2.5 million from its police budget. The total cuts add up to just under 1% of the total police department’s budget. The cut primarily reduces the executive pay of the department, including the police chief, and the budget for SWAT teams, police in schools, and recruitment.

Seattle’s Crime Rate:

Seattle has its highest violent crime rate in 15 years in 2022, homicides also reached a peak in 2023 with 56 murders. However, overall crime in 2023 reached its lowest rate in over ten years. Everything from rapes, assaults, burglary to thefts have all fallen from rates in 2022 through 2019.

3. Minneapolis

• Minneapolis’s police budget: Most famously, Minneapolis pledged to completely disband and defund their police force. They quickly walked that promise back, instead opting for modest budget reallocations. They voted instead to cut $28 million from their police budget. Around $8 million of those cuts would be reassigned to alternative policing options and mental health intervention. However, almost every department had to face budget cuts of some kind due to budget shortfalls, with most other budgets suffering cuts of similar sizes. Additionally, $11.4 million which is not included in the police budget was made available for the police chief to use for unplanned overtime and new recruits. At the same time, they adopted plans to increase police recruitment in 2022.

Minneapolis’s Crime Rate:

Violent crime has increased steadily over the last five years in Minneapolis, with downtown rates increasing slower than the rest of the city as a whole. Homicides and assaults have both skyrocketed. Property crimes, on the other hand, have dropped to levels below pre-pandemic years.

2. New York

• New York’s police budget: New York made headlines when Mayor de Blasio announced he would cut $1 billion from the police budget. Those cuts never happened, however. Only $474 million was either cut, delayed, or reallocated as part of a larger initiative to trim the budget due to the recent pandemic. After the initial cuts, police spending increased again in the years after, resuming its upward trend and reinstating previously paused police classes.

New York’s Crime Rate:

New York reached a historically low crime rate just before the pandemic, now after the lockdowns have ended, crime rates have remained relatively the same. Shootings and homicides have both decreased since the close of the pandemic. Homicides reached their lowest level since 2019. Robbery and burglary, however, have driven the overall crime rate up since 2021.

1. Austin

• Austin’s police budget: Austin voted unanimously to cut or reallocate $150 million from their 2021 police budget. The largest changes include a straight $20 million cut to the department, reallocating $45 million for the Reimagine Safety Fund, and moving $80 million to civilian agents who would replace some police functions. However, even after these drastic cuts, Austin’s 2022 police budget set a new record at $442 million, with even more increases planned for the future.

Austin’s Crime Rate:

Overall crime has been falling in Austin ever since a peak in 2008. That trend has continued through to 2023. Austin remains one of the safest of the 30 largest cities in America.

 

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