Lately, progressive apologists have tried to claim that Democrats never advocated defunding police forces in the wake of the George Floyd riots in 2020. Sure. We noted the other day that earlier THIS YEAR, a three-fifths majority of House Democrats voted against a resolution that condemned efforts to defund or abolish the police.

Now the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is demonstrating just how resistant progressives are to adequately funding crime control. In a tie vote, they agreed to put a measure on the March 2024 ballot that promises to increase staffing levels for police—but only if significant tax increases are imposed.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is aghast, noting the city is short 540 police officers:  “It’s bad policy and wrong to ask voters to pay more in taxes for basic city services like public safety.”

Supervisor Ahsha Safaí proposed the tax hike at the behest of public employee unions that are insisting that no one in other city departments can be laid off in order to hire more police.

His colleague, Supervisor Dean Preston has an even crazier suggestion: “We have a very bloated police budget. All kinds of waste in the police department. I mean, I could cut a hundred million dollars out of the police department.”

We’re all for cutting bloat and even police departments have it. But let’s get real: police prevent crime. A Princeton study has found that more police helped robbery, larceny, and auto theft, “with suggestive evidence that police reduce murders as well.” Another 2019 study found that crime rose by 7% when police patrols in Houston declined by 10%.