The death of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked an anti-police culture across the United States, including California. As a result, there has been a massive amount of unjustified criticism surrounding all police officers’ use of force and accusations of racist attacks by officers.
Many states and cities launched legislative and policy measures that are an extreme overreaction and defund the police and other law enforcement affiliated agencies. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was defunded and massively reduced in numbers and resources. Officers are now suffering from low morale, with many rapidly retiring early, switching careers, or moving to different regions that still have positive relationships with the police.
Under-Resourced Police Departments
This has caused a shortage across all of the major police departments in California, with the LAPD down by about 1,000 officers. As a result, police response rates are much slower and the crime rate is up. Police are feeling the brunt of the criticism, and they are hesitant to use any force as they are afraid of getting in trouble, fired, or even sued. In addition, in California, we have pro-criminal District Attorneys who do not want to prosecute misdemeanor crimes.
Furthermore, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, let 175,000 criminals out of jail, including thousands of pedophiles. This led to a dangerous combination of fewer cops, slower responses, and far more criminals on the streets. When you let this many criminals out of jail, many people commit more crimes, but now fewer law enforcement resources are available to stop them. Unsurprisingly, there was a significant uptick in crime following these decisions.
Pro Criminal Legislation
Legislation in California has also been a massive issue in creating a pro-criminal environment to encourage more crimes. Proposition 47, for example, allows criminals to go from store to store all day multiple times and steal up to $950 at each location with little to no consequence.
Another law allows criminals to be released earlier than their sentence, which increases the likelihood of reoffending. For example, they could shave off a few years of their punishment for good behavior. However, just because a criminal does not get into fights while in prison does not guarantee good behavior while out of jail.
The culmination of these factors and anti-police legislation has led to a nearly threefold increase in violent crimes across California, especially when it has become a no-bail state. Murders are up 35%, violent crime is up 8%, and gun sales are up 66%. The culture of gun laws is not actually benefiting anyone. Gun laws only affect law-abiding individuals who are already doing everything by the book. Criminals will never feel the need to follow new gun laws and will continue to purchase guns illegally and without any checks. Therefore, these laws are not only redundant, but they are not serving the purpose that they claim.
Alongside this steep increase in crime, one sad consequence is that small businesses are closing. One-third of small businesses closed during the COVID pandemic, many of which were due to the high crime rates. Small businesses simply cannot handle the high rates of theft that rob them of their daily income, and the owners cannot afford security. Therefore, many feel that they have no other option but to close.
Private Security as a Solution
Everything in law enforcement is reactive to crime. But on the other hand, everything in private security is proactive and preventative. With good armed private security, crime is not allowed to happen in the first place.
It is essential to recognize that a vicious cycle is at play here. Politicians mistreating law enforcement leads to a shortage of police officers and a rise in crime rates. As crime rates increase, small businesses suffer, and individuals feel less safe, which in turn causes more law enforcement officials to leave the profession. If a former police officer decides to pursue a career in private security, they will need to undergo extensive training and reskilling that could take hundreds of hours. However, once they transition into this field, they will enter a profession entirely focused on preventing crime and ensuring the safety of their clients.
