Residents Of American Cities Are Still Suffering From A Crime Surge Accelerated By Progressive Soft-On-Crime Policies

Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSROOM | Republican LeaderSkip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELL×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUFacebookTwitterInstagramFacebookTwitterInstagramVisit Senator McConnell's site here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board09.14.23Residents Of American Cities Are Still Suffering From A Crime Surge Accelerated By Progressive Soft-On-Crime PoliciesIn Many Cities, Residents And Businesses Fear For Their Safety, With Murders, Burglaries, Robberies, And Carjackings Out Of Control, While Rampant Drug Use And Homelessness Also Plague The StreetsSENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Violent crime in some American cities has grown so rampant, even the local media are struggling to keep up. Last month, a Chicago news crew was filming a story about armed robbery when they themselves became the victims of an armed robbery! This is a city where Democrats recently swapped out a mayor who famously refused to let law enforcement do their job for one who called defunding the police a, quote, ‘real political goal.’ Unfortunately, millions of Americans live under liberal local leaders who would rather bend to soft-on-crime radicalism than keep their streets safe. … So Mr. President, it shouldn’t have to be like this. The American people don’t deserve to live in fear. In every city and town, they deserve to feel safe in their own streets.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 9/11/2023)LEADER McCONNELL: “Last year, here in Washington, the U.S. attorney declined to prosecute 67% of the cases brought to him by police. In Los Angeles, the soft-on-crime D.A. has tasked his department’s investigators with escorting staff to and from the office rather than prosecuting the criminals who make them feel so unsafe. The solution here isn’t exactly a mystery. As Washington’s former police chief, Robert Contee, put it earlier this year, quote: ‘We need to keep violent people in jail.’ But somehow, it took intervention from Congress to stop the radical city council from ignoring this lesson and going even softer on crime.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 9/11/2023)Soft-On-Crime Policies Were Enacted In Multiple States And Cities In Recent Years And The Results Have Been Disastrous‘Defund The Police’ ‘Organizers Successfully Pushed For $840 Million In Police Spending Cuts Across The U.S.’“According to Interrupting Criminalization, an initiative at the Barnard Center for Research on Women that supports defunding the police, organizers successfully pushed for $840 million in police spending cuts across the U.S., and $160 million in shifts to other social programs. Cities cut another $35 million by canceling contracts with police departments to patrol schools, the center said.” (“Cities Reverse Defunding the Police Amid Rising Crime,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/26/2021)Washington, D.C. Cut Police Funding And Has A U.S. Attorney Under Fire For ‘Declining To Prosecute 67 Percent Of Those Arrested’“D.C. lawmakers [in June 2020] advanced measures to cut $15 million from the police department budget, a change that defund-the-police activists dismissed as insufficient and the police chief warned could result in the loss of hundreds of officers. The D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety unanimously approved a plan to reduce the $533 million police budget proposed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) by cutting vacant positions and rejecting an expansion of the police cadet program. The committee also voted to cut the department’s capital budget and reallocate funds to alternative violence-reduction programs.” (“D.C. Activists And Lawmakers Confront Challenges Of ‘Defund Police’ Movement,” The Washington Post, 6/25/2020)“The U.S. attorney for D.C., Matthew M. Graves, has faced criticism for his office’s declining to prosecute 67 percent of those arrested by police officers in the last fiscal year in cases that would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court. D.C. officials have routinely criticized what they contend is a lack of accountability for repeat violent offenders fueling the violence.” (“Homicides Are Falling In Many Big Cities. In D.C., They’re Rising.” The Washington Post, 8/19/2023)Kentucky’s Democrat Governor Released Over 1000 Criminals From Prison During The Pandemic“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear commuted the sentences of 352 state inmates deemed particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, with most to be released from overcrowded county jails. The hundreds of inmates who could now be released after a screening process are in addition to the more than 800 released by Beshear since his first executive order on April 2.” (“Gov. Beshear Commutes Sentences Of Additional 352 State Inmates In Response To COVID-19,” Louisville Courier-Journal, 4/28/2020)Oregon Voted To Decriminalize Possession Of Hard Drugs“For the past two and a half years, Oregon has been trying an unusual experiment to stem soaring rates of addiction and overdose deaths. People caught with small amounts of illicit drugs for ‘personal use,’ including fentanyl and methamphetamine, are fined just $100 — a sanction that can be waived if they participate in a drug screening and health assessment…. [T]he proposal, known as Measure 110, was approved by nearly 60 percent of Oregon voters in November 2020 …” (“Scenes From a City That Only Hands Out Tickets for Using Fentanyl,” The New York Times, 7/31/2023)And California Voted To Reduce Penalties For Property And Drug Crimes“Proposition 47, known as the Safer Neighborhoods and Schools Act or Prop 47, was a ballot initiative that went into effect in November 2014. It reduced penalties for certain nonviolent property and drug crimes. Under the new law, charges were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors for grand theft and shoplifting worth less than $950. So were charges for drug possession for personal use of most drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine. Before the proposition, prosecutors were also allowed to charge people with prior convictions with a felony…. With Prop 47 in play, many California counties and cities are facing a rapid escalation of retail theft crimes, more substance abuse issues, drug addiction, drug overdoses, and homelessness.” (“'A Revolving Door': California Police And DA Blame Safer Neighborhoods Law For Rise In Drugs And Crime,” Washington Examiner, 5/07/2023)“A California Bay Area county supervisor, frustrated by rising retail theft in the area, admitted that state laws were ‘not working’ to deter criminals, as he announced a new proposal to crack down on crime. San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa … told reporters he would propose a task force at the next Board of Supervisors meeting to address a wave of retail theft in the county. He also wants state lawmakers to toughen laws to lower the dollar figure when shoplifting becomes a felony … The Democrat admitted he regretted supporting California's Prop 47, which voters passed in 2014…. ‘I made a mistake, it was a big mistake, and you have to acknowledge your mistake,’ he confessed. ‘By doing this, what we've done is we're letting people take thousands and thousands of dollars. And why should people be subjugated?’” (“California Democrat Frustrated By Rising Theft Admits Liberal Crime Bill Was ‘Big Mistake,’” Fox News, 8/30/2023)The Crime Surge In Washington, D.C., Shows No Signs Of Slowing DownSo far in 2023, all Washington, D.C. crime is up 28% from this time last year. (Metropolitan Police Department, Accessed 9/14/2023)Murders are up 28%. (Metropolitan Police Department, Accessed 9/14/2023)Violent crime is up 39%. (Metropolitan Police Department, Accessed 9/14/2023)Sex abuse crimes are up 7%. (Metropolitan Police Department, Accessed 9/14/2023)Motor vehicle thefts are up 109%. (Metropolitan Police Department, Accessed 9/14/2023)‘Killings In The District Are Surging Toward Numbers Not Seen In Two Decades’“…killings in the District are surging toward numbers not seen in two decades…” (“Homicides Are Falling In Many Big Cities. In D.C., They’re Rising.” The Washington Post, 8/19/2023)“The spike in felonies — homicides and robberies are up 29 and 67 percent from the same time period last year, police statistics show — is not the only data that is causing alarm. The number of juveniles arrested for carjacking has increased slightly since last year, with 41 of the 64 charged between the ages of 12 and 15. As of Aug. 31, a total of 81 minors had been shot in the city this year, compared with 66 over the same span last year and 37 in 2021.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“… months of persistent gun violence is causing many Washingtonians to question their safety and commitment to the city with an intensity perhaps unseen since the drug wars.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“Derek Floyd, who coaches youngsters at the Barry Farm Recreation Center in Ward 8, said he cannot find 14-year-olds to play fall football this year, partly because their parents are worried about their safety traveling to games. But he also said that teens themselves are afraid they could become targets ‘if people know where they are’ when practices or games are scheduled. ‘It makes it more dangerous,’ Floyd said. ‘Unfortunately this is our reality.’” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“The randomness is reflected in statistics showing sharp increases in crime in areas where it is less expected, as well as the jarring details of individual incidents…” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“… a military interpreter from Afghanistan killed while driving a Lyft on Capitol Hill;” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“… a construction worker slain as he arrived for work at 6 a.m. at Howard University;” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023) “…a spectator shot to death as he watched an Adams Morgan soccer match.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)‘It Is Not Just Gun Violence That Causes Anxiety’“At an August community meeting, dozens of Chinatown residents complained to police about a pervasive sense of disorder at 7th and H streets NW, site of the neighborhood’s landmark arch. Day and night, clusters of people linger outside a Metro station entrance, including panhandlers, pot smokers and some who appear emotionally disturbed.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“It is not just gun violence that causes anxiety. There are the ubiquitous ‘porch pirates’ stealing packages from doorsteps and thieves smashing car windows that add to a sense of lawlessness.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“A Giant Food market in Southeast announced last week that it would no longer keep brands like Advil and Tide on shelves to discourage shoplifters.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)D.C. Residents: ‘You Used To Not Have To Worry About Crime … Now You Could Just Be Going Down The Street, Going To The Car And You Can Be Killed,’ ‘There Seems To Be No Consequences’“It’s so ridiculous,’ [Stephanie] Heishman, 44, said of the precautions she takes to feel safer. ‘On the other hand, I don’t want to randomly get shot.’” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“‘It’s worse in some ways, like a wicked spirit is out there,’ said Ronald Moten … ‘You used to not have to worry about crime unless you were associated with the streets, with drug dealing. Now you could just be going down the street, going to the car and you can be killed.’” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“As he walked into a CVS to buy vitamins earlier this year, Wes Boatwright noticed a man on his way out carrying a large trash bag. The customers and store employees ‘looked shellshocked,’ he said. The man had ‘walked over to the house-cleaning products and knocked everything into his big old garbage bag.’” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“Heishman, a D.C. resident for 22 years, says she’s more likely to take an Uber than ride the bus or an e-bike, especially at night if she’s alone. Her friend, Anne MacDonald, 75, at whose Mount Pleasant house Heishman dines on Sundays, won’t walk her dogs at night, avoids the Columbia Heights Metro station, and no longer waits for the bus at the stop on her corner, outside a 7-Eleven where she says she has observed regular daytime drug transactions.” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)“‘If this is what’s happening in my little neighborhood, and it’s palpable, what’s happening in the rest of the city?’ MacDonald asked. ‘There seems to be no consequences.’” (“A Shaken Washington Copes With Surging Violence: ‘This Is Not Normal,’” The Washington Post, 9/11/2023)Louisville’s Small Businesses And Residents Are Struggling To Weather A City-Wide Crime SurgeLouisville Has Already Surpassed 100 Homicides This Year“Louisville has now seen more than 100 homicides this year. Just after 10 p.m. [August 15th], multiple shots rang out at 26th and Market in the Russell neighborhood…. The man later died at the hospital, becoming the city's 101st homicide victim of 2023.” (“Louisville Reaches Grim Milestone, Surpasses 100 Homicides For The Year,” WLKY, 8/16/2023)“The Louisville Metro Police Department is investigating after a man was shot and killed in the Russell neighborhood on [September 10th]. Neighbors say they're shaken by the violence. ‘I'm fed up. When someone takes a life away, it's heartbreaking,’ said Anthony Wilson, ‘So many people are losing their life without getting a chance at life, and it's painful.’” (“Neighbors Say They're 'Fed Up' After Man Shot, Killed In Russell Neighborhood,” WLKY, 9/11/2023)Carjackings Increased So Much Over The Prior 2 Years That Louisville Was ‘Considered The Carjacking Capital Of The State Of Kentucky’“Josh Crawford, the Executive Director of Pegasus Institute, Recently Delved into the Growing Number of Carjackings in Metro Louisville…. ‘Not Only Have We Seen a Significant Increase in Carjackings Overall About a 206% Increase over That Two-year Period, but We've Seen an Increased Percentage of Those Carjacking Arrestees Be Juveniles,’ Crawford Said.” (“Louisville Sees 206% Increase in Carjackings over 2-Year Period, Study Shows,” WDRB, 6/22/2022)“Across the country, the FBI reports an increase in carjackings and Louisville is considered the carjacking capital of the state of Kentucky.” (WHAS11, 2/22/2021)Residents In The Highlands Neighborhood Have ‘Reached A Boiling Point With Crime’: ‘We Don't Feel Safe Outside Past Dark’“For decades in Louisville, the Highlands was a beacon of small business success. Restaurants, trendy shops and bars lined the long Bardstown Road corridor from Broadway to Interstate 264, a hotspot for tourists and locals alike and the hallmark of the city's devotion to stay ‘weird.’ That idyllic neighborhood vibe isn't dead but it might have moved across town. Earlier this month, more than 300 people packed the pews of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church to voice their frustrations and concerns, many of them having reached a boiling point with crime, street racing and noise overtaking their quality of life.” (“Highlands Residents Want Their Neighborhood Back. Here's An Up-Close Look At A Night On Bardstown Road,” WDRB, 8/22/2023)“And, in recent months, the area has become dangerous at times. Surveillance video shared from a resident — who wanted to remain anonymous — showed a fight in front of bars on Baxter Avenue over the winter escalated to gunshots. In recent months, residents said that's become an all-too-common occurrence. Most recently, three people were shot early the morning of July 31 near Bardstown Road and Bonnycastle Avenue. One man was killed.” (“Highlands Residents Want Their Neighborhood Back. Here's An Up-Close Look At A Night On Bardstown Road,” WDRB, 8/22/2023)“‘We don't feel safe outside past dark,’ said Katherine Ussey, who lives in the Highlands. Residents in the area have asked city leadership for a plan to fix it and return their neighborhood to the charm of the past. But what is it really like along Bardstown Road? On two recent weekend nights, we got a first-hand look.” (“Highlands Residents Want Their Neighborhood Back. Here's An Up-Close Look At A Night On Bardstown Road,” WDRB, 8/22/2023)“‘People's heads are on a swivel these days around here,’ said one Highlands resident who wanted to remain anonymous. ‘And it's just because that they don't feel as safe.’” (“Highlands Residents Want Their Neighborhood Back. Here's An Up-Close Look At A Night On Bardstown Road,” WDRB, 8/22/2023)“More security footage shows cars being broken into and suspicious meetups right on the sidewalk. But it's not just the violence and crime that have neighbors fed up. It's also the street racing and burnouts. On a recent Friday night, a group of motorcyclists overtook Bardstown Road. Nearby residents said they've seen nights where as many as 30-50 motorcyclist race in packs.” (“Highlands Residents Want Their Neighborhood Back. Here's An Up-Close Look At A Night On Bardstown Road,” WDRB, 8/22/2023)Some Small Businesses In Downtown Have Had To Close Over Rampant Homelessness And Safety Issues“Struggling downtown Louisville business owners say they're trying to overcome two significant obstacles: empty offices and a perception that the city's streets are unsafe. Those conditions have created a perfect storm that have made it nearly impossible for some businesses to survive.” (“Downtown Louisville Business Owners Struggling To Adapt To New Realities,” WDRB, 5/8/2023)“After little more than a year, All Thai'd Up -- a Thai restaurant -- closed its downtown Louisville location. ‘Ultimately, it's just the increase of homelessness -- the crime in the area -- and just not feeling safe,’ said Katherine Aphaivongs, the restaurant's owner. Aphaivongs believes crime keeps people away from downtown.” (“Downtown Louisville Business Owners Struggling To Adapt To New Realities,” WDRB, 5/8/2023)Rampant Homelessness And Open-Air Drug Markets Have Residents Fleeing Portland, OregonPortland’s Officials ‘Allowed Tents On The Streets’ And Homelessness Has Become The Nexus Of Multiple Safety Issues“In 2022, Portland experienced a spate of homicides and other violence involving homeless victims that rattled many in the community: a 42-year-old homeless woman shot in the face by two teenagers who were hunting rats with a pellet gun; a 26-year-old homeless woman stabbed in the chest outside her tent; another homeless woman, 31, fatally shot at close range by a stranger. The search for answers points in many directions — to city and county officials who allowed tents on the streets because the government had little to offer in the way of housing, to Oregon voters who backed decriminalizing hard drugs and to the unrest that rocked Portland in 2020 and left raw scars. But what has turbocharged the city’s troubles in recent years is fentanyl, the deadly synthetic drug, which has transformed long standing problems into a profound test of the Portland ethos. Outreach workers in Portland say rampant fentanyl use has coincided with the increasing turmoil among many homeless residents.” (The New York Times, 7/29/2023)“To most Portlanders, the results of a recent survey commissioned by the city to identify areas in need of improvement will come as no surprise. Respondents identified homelessness, community safety and cost of living as the city's top problems. Homelessness stood out from the pack as the biggest challenge, with more than 44% of respondents saying it was their top concern. By contrast, 21% named cost of living and 19% said safety.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)PORTLAND RESIDENT: “Homelessness is the biggest problem which is tied to lack of affordability. HOWEVER, the biggest issue is our handling of the homeless problem. The homeless population and permissiveness of camping everywhere has led to rampant property crimes and lack of public safety.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)“On her walk to work at Forte Portland, a coffee shop and wine bar that she operates with her brother in the sunken lobby of a commercial building, Jennifer Myrle sidesteps needles, shattered glass and human feces. Often, she says, someone is passed out in front of the lobby’s door, blocking her entrance. The other day, a man lurched in, lay down on a Forte couch, stripped off his shirt and shoes, and refused to leave. ‘At four in the afternoon the streets can feel like dealer central,’ Ms. Myrle said. ‘At least 20 to 30 people in ski masks, hoodies and backpacks, usually on bikes and scooters. There’s no point calling the cops.’” (“Scenes From a City That Only Hands Out Tickets for Using Fentanyl,” The New York Times, 7/31/2023)Oregon Decriminalized Possession Of Hard Drugs And ‘Within Months’ ‘Open-Air Drug Use … Burst Into Full View’: ‘Portland Is A Homeless Drug Addict’s Slice Of Paradise’“While an increasing number of states no longer criminally charge people for using marijuana, Oregon took the bold step of decriminalizing the possession of ‘hard drugs.’ When the police in Oregon see someone using these drugs, they can hand out a $100 ticket and a card listing a hotline for addiction treatment. Known as Measure 110, the law was meant to focus the government’s efforts on treating addiction, not on arresting users.” (The New York Times, 7/29/2023)“Within months of the measure taking effect in February 2021, open-air drug use, long in the shadows, burst into full view, with people sitting in circles in parks or leaning against street signs, smoking fentanyl crushed on tinfoil. Since then, Oregon’s overdose rates have only grown. Now, tents of unhoused people line many sidewalks in Portland. Monthslong waiting lists for treatment continue to lengthen. Some politicians and community groups are calling for Measure 110 to be replaced with tough fentanyl possession laws.” (“Scenes From a City That Only Hands Out Tickets for Using Fentanyl,” The New York Times, 7/31/2023)“‘Portland is a homeless drug addict’s slice of paradise,’ said Noah Nethers, who was living with his girlfriend in a bright orange tent on the sidewalk against a fence of a church, where they shoot and smoke both fentanyl and meth. He ticked off the advantages: He can do drugs wherever he wants and the cops no longer harass him. There are more dealers, scouting for fresh customers moving to paradise. That means drugs are plentiful and cheap.” (“Scenes From a City That Only Hands Out Tickets for Using Fentanyl,” The New York Times, 7/31/2023)Widespread Crime Has Residents ‘Not Feeling Safe On Public Transit, Walking Or Biking Through The City, Or Even Taking Their Kids To School’“People reported not feeling safe on public transit, walking or biking through the city, or even taking their kids to school. They blamed those feelings on Portland's increased rates in certain types of crime, public drug use, people sleeping in public areas, speeding drivers and people having mental health crises.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)“At night, a whopping 72% of people said that they don't feel safe walking around the central city, with only 21% saying that they feel safe.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)PORTLAND RESIDENT: “It's not safe to walk alone in this city anymore.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)Theft And Break-Ins Have Left Some Small Businesses Struggling To Survive While Large Retailers Have Just Closed Stores Outright“Jennyfer’s Boutique is a minority-run store that’s been operating in North Portland for the last six years. ‘Portland is havoc right now,’ the storeowner’s son, Cesar Rojas said. ‘Crime ridden. People are stealing. People are hurting each other.  Stores are boarded up. It feels nothing like home. It’s almost unrecognizable. Something has to change.’ … Over the last several days, Rojas said there have been several thefts. They were captured on camera. ‘It’s out of control,’ he said…. ‘We’re all sick of it,’ Rojas said. ‘Every day it’s a new thing. Oh, this guy stole from the store. Oh, this guy broke in last night. It’s all the same thing.’ Rojas explained that he feels like he has tried everything to deter crime, including implementing a ‘knock to enter’ policy to identify potentially risky customers…. Rojas estimated that upwards of $10,000 has been stolen over the last half year or so. Due to the thefts, he said his family has had no choice but to consider boarding up the windows or closing altogether.” (“North Portland Small Business Struggling Against Crime,” Fox 12 Oregon, 8/05/2023)“‘We feed ourselves from the money coming from this boutique,’ Rojas said, ‘and sometimes we can’t make ends meet. It really sucks.’” (“North Portland Small Business Struggling Against Crime,” Fox 12 Oregon, 8/05/2023)“The outdoor retail giant REI announced [April 17th] that it plans to close its store in Portland’s Pearl District early next year, citing an increase in crime and theft. In an email to customers Monday, REI said its store in Portland “had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite actions to provide extra security.” (“REI To Close Only Portland Store, Citing Break-Ins, Theft,” The Oregonian, 4/18/2023)“The company said its theft problem came to a head last November, when a car crashed through the glass front doors of REI’s Pearl District store on Black Friday. It was the store’s third break-in in a week…. [REI spokesperson Megan] Behrbaum said REI has made costly investments in store security, including replacing the store’s windows with security glass, hiring around-the-clock private security and installing a surveillance trailer at the store’s loading dock…. But the volume of break-ins, shoplifting and other crimes is ‘overwhelming systems in place,’ Behrbaum said in an email. In 2022, REI spent more than $800,000 on additional security, she said. ‘Yet, we still experienced 10 burglaries, including one event that shut down our 14th street entrance for more than two months,’ Behrbaum said.” (“REI To Close Only Portland Store, Citing Break-Ins, Theft,” The Oregonian, 4/18/2023)Tens Of Thousands Of People Have Simply Left Portland And Multnomah County“There are growing signs that these types of concerns could be translating into action — flight. People are moving away from Portland and Multnomah County, and they're taking a lot of money with them. The Oregonian recently did an analysis of this trend. They took a look at data released by the Internal Revenue Service, concluding that people who left Multnomah County in 2020 and 2021 took more than a billion dollars in income with them, a record loss for the county. More than 14,000 tax filers and their dependents left in a single year, The Oregonian reported.” (“Despite Crossover, Different Issues Motivate People Who Left Portland Compared To Those Who Remain, Survey Finds,” KGW8, 8/07/2023)“The 2020 exodus came at the same time that crime in Portland began spiking and the city broke its homicide record in 2021 and then again in 2022. In addition, the homeless crisis in Portland has continued to spiral out of control and several Portland business owners have sounded the alarm about the issue and the crime associated with it…. The flood of residents leaving Portland appears to have continued since the pandemic as Portland lost 8,308 people from July 2021 to July 2022. Census data shows that Portland lost the sixth-most residents in the country over the past year, Fox 12 Oregon reported.” (“Oregon County Lost $1 Billion In 2020 As Residents Fled Crime, Homelessness: ‘It’s Like Portland Died,’” Fox News, 8/03/2023)San Francisco Is Staring Down A ‘Doom Loop’ As Safety Concerns And Unchecked Theft And Drug Use Result In People And Businesses Abandoning The City “As of [July 9th] homicides have climbed nearly 8% this year compared to the same period in 2022; and robberies have risen about 12%, San Francisco Police Department data showed.” (ABC News, 7/12/2023)“Homelessness and drug use remain prevalent in and near downtown…. [O]ffice workers still complain about crimes like cellphone theft, both on the streets and in subway stations. In the Tenderloin district abutting the downtown shopping district, there are open drug markets.” (“Can San Francisco Save Itself From the Doom Loop?,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/13/2023)Soaring Property Crime Has Contributed To A ‘Slew Of Closures Of Retail Stores In San Francisco In Recent Months’“[San Francisco’s] property crime rates are among the highest. In the central police district that includes downtown, car break-ins rose 171% in 2021, 2% last year, and 3% in the first half of 2023, compared with the prior year periods. Burglaries were up 14% this year through June.” (“Can San Francisco Save Itself From the Doom Loop?,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/13/2023)“San Francisco’s retail crime spree has stoked fear and anger over the last few years, with videos of egregious theft going viral and retailers attributing their closures to the problem.” (“New Law Targeting Organized Retail Theft Just Kicked In. Will It Make An Impact In S.F.?,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/27/2023)“The slew of closures of retail stores in San Francisco in recent months doubles as a roundup of well-known shopping brands: Whole Foods, Old Navy and Nordstrom, among others. Nearly half of the stores in the city's downtown shopping district have closed since 2019, the San Francisco Standard found in May. In June, the 70-store downtown Westfield Mall said it would stop making payments on a $558 million loan, relinquishing ownership of the shopping center and leaving the fate of the complex uncertain.” (ABC News, 7/12/2023)“In April, Whole Foods opted to close its flagship location in downtown San Francisco to ‘ensure worker safety,’ the company said in a statement to ABC News at the time … Old Navy … closed its store in downtown San Francisco in May … [That same month] … Nordstrom announced plans to close stores in downtown San Francisco …” (ABC News, 7/12/2023)“[Rachel] Michelin [president and CEO of the California Retailers Association] conceded that the [a new federal] law won’t solve the [retail theft] problem in California. She urged the state Legislature to allow felony prosecutions of people who steal less than $950 worth of merchandise. Prop. 47, approved by California voters in 2014, raised the threshold for the value of stolen goods to trigger a felony from $400 to $950. Voters rejected an effort to overturn portions of Prop. 47 in 2020, and multiple efforts to overturn the law, led by Republicans, have failed in the Legislature, where Democrats hold a supermajority. ‘We know these repeat offenders are coming into the stores, they’re stealing under that threshold. They get a cite and release and they keep doing it,’ Michelin said. ‘This isn’t going to impact them.’” (“New Law Targeting Organized Retail Theft Just Kicked In. Will It Make An Impact In S.F.?,” San Francisco Chronicle, 6/27/2023)One CNN Reporter Covering Crime In The City Has Had Her Car Broken Into Repeatedly And Witnessed Multiple Thefts From ‘The Most-Robbed Walgreens In The Nation’“The most-robbed Walgreens in the nation saw its latest thefts captured on camera — in the middle of a journalist’s televised report on the rampant crime at the San Francisco store. CNN Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah was at the store on [July 24th] to report on the store’s latest anti-theft tactic — chaining the doors to its freezers shut — when she spotted a shoplifter walking out with merchandise in his hands. ‘Did that guy pay? Did that guy pay?’ Lah asks a cashier behind the counter. The employee simply answers, ‘He didn’t pay.’ Lah said she witnessed two other robberies in 30 minutes while conducting her story, noting that of the nearly 9,000 Walgreens in the US, the one in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood was the one with the ‘highest theft rate.’ In the story, Lah said that the store sees more than a dozen thefts a day, and it had recently seen thieves cleaning out its frozen goods section. It got to the point where ‘workers grew so frustrated they resorted to the chains,’ Lah said, referencing the latest anti-theft system.” (“Journalist Witnesses 3 Thefts In 30 Minutes During Segment At Most-Robbed Walgreens In US,” New York Post, 7/25/2023)“Lah previously went public in March after thieves were successful in robbing her crew in San Francisco. ‘Got robbed. Again,’ Lah wrote. ‘[CNN producer Jason Kravarik] & I were at city hall in San Francisco to do an interview for @CNN. We had security to watch our rental car + crew car. Thieves did this in under 4 seconds. Security stopped the jerks from stealing other bags. But seriously- this is ridiculous.’” (“CNN Reporter Burglarized A Third Time While Covering Rampant Crime In The Bay Area,” Fox News, 8/02/2023)The Area Around The Nancy Pelosi Federal Building In San Francisco Is ‘Home To One Of The City’s Most Brazen Open-Air Drug Markets’ And Workers There Have Been Urged To Stay Home Out Of Safety Concerns“Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advised hundreds of employees in San Francisco to work remotely for the foreseeable future due to public safety concerns outside the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building on Seventh Street. The imposing, 18-story tower on the corner of Seventh and Mission streets houses various federal agencies, including HHS, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. The area is also home to one of the city’s most brazen open-air drug markets, where dozens of dealers and users congregate on a daily basis. HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration Cheryl R. Campbell issued the stay-home recommendation in an Aug. 4 memo to regional leaders.” (“Crime Is So Bad Near S.F. Federal Building Employees Are Told To Work From Home, Officials Said,” San Francisco Chronicle, 8/11/2023)“The building has long been a locus of some of the city’s most intractable problems. Dozens of dealers routinely plant themselves on, next to or across the street from the property, operating in shifts as users smoke, snort or shoot up their recent purchases. The property’s concrete benches are an especially popular site for users to get high, socialize or pass out.” (“Crime Is So Bad Near S.F. Federal Building Employees Are Told To Work From Home, Officials Said,” San Francisco Chronicle, 8/11/2023)###SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTERPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER McCONNELLFacebookTwitterInstagram