Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.
That can be the only summation of the events that have transpired in the left coast city of Seattle.
Because Seattle has just reached an awful milestone that was entirely predictable.
Seattle, like all big blue American cities run by Democrats, has been a cesspool of crime for years.
But lately it’s gotten even worse.
The city’s violent crime rate climbed to the worst in 15 years in 2022.
Numbers in just-released Seattle PD’s year-end crime report are staggering
Homicides surged by 24% compared to the prior year.
These figures are from the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) Year-End Crime Report and the eye-popping numbers all come more than a year after the city cut its police budget.
But that isn’t all.
Rape and aggravated assaults increased, contributing to 5,591 total reported violent offenses.
Additionally, nearly 1600 car thefts were reported and the city saw a 4% increase in overall crime.
The truly tragic part of this is that it all could have been foreseen as actions have consequences.
According to the Seattle Times, the City Council reduced funding to the police department by 17% in its 2021 budget.
This followed the violent riots in the Summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
The new 2023 budget funds Democrat Mayor Bruce Harrell’s officer recruitment and retention plan but eliminates 30 unfilled SPD positions.
Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen said, “It’s no longer theoretical what happens when hundreds of officers leave a police department, we now see the reality of that. We know a lot of people are frustrated when they call 911. They are waiting for the police, they know that there’s a staffing shortage.”
Mayor says city is “on a good trajectory”
But if there’s a crime crisis, you wouldn’t know it from listening to the mayor.
Bruce Harrell (D) finished his first term in office at the end of 2022 and says, “The city is on a good trajectory, with our holistic approach to our public safety.”
Harrell did say he worries about, “the proliferation of guns in the wrong hands.”
According to the police department, a record number of shootings or shots fired incidents occurred last year, as SPD reported 39 fatal shootings and 52 total homicides occurred.
Seattle is an unfortunate demonstration of exactly what happens when leftist actually get their way with defunding the police.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
