The upscale community of Atlanta known as Buckhead is planning a split from the city of Atlanta. Business leaders and residents cite the upswing in crime as the reason. Atlanta has seen more than 300 shootings since the start of the year and homicides are up 63 percent over this time two years ago.
Buckhead leaders are promising establishing their own police force and an eradication of crime there (Christina Maxouris, CNN, June 7, 2021).
Atlanta Mayor Bottoms claims it’s just a “COVID crime wave.” That’s the new excuse for urban crime which apparently has replaced climate change and racism, temporarily. The residents of Buckhead think otherwise. They also cite concerns with schools, broken infrastructure and lagging public services like waste collection.
Buckhead residents don’t believe the high taxes they pay give them a suitable return in government services and they aren’t alone. In Ashville, N.C., 84 police officers have left the force since “defund the police” protests began. Now the city has stopped responding to theft calls and response time for emergencies is averaging over 10 minutes.
Many cities toying with the progressive scheme to defund the police have seen dramatic rises in crime. To make the situation worse, cities like Baltimore, Minneapolis and Louisville were placed under Justice Department scrutiny back in the Eric Holder days. This requires them to spend additional money for changes mandated by the DOJ. At the same time their progressive officials are screaming to cut the police budgets.
COVID lockdowns can’t explain the crime waves that have plagued big cities for decades. Progressive schemes like restrictive gun laws that don’t stop criminals getting illegal firearms, policies that catch and release and a leftist obsession with defunding police are the root of past and now growing g problems.
The Buckhead residents understand what the causes are. That’s why they want their own police force. Asheville will soon understand it. So call it what it really is, progressive folly.
Ralph Miller