A recent analysis of the yearly National Crime Victimization Survey reveals some unsettling trends. Under the Obama rule, minority demographics, particularly Black Americans, were subjected to considerably high and unstable victimization rates. However, the picture significantly improved under the Trump administration, with most minority communities, especially Black Americans, seeing a notable decrease in victimization. Yet, this progress was short-lived as the Biden administration saw victimization rates spiral upwards for all groups, with Black Americans witnessing a substantial surge, compared to the Trump era.
The safety of minorities under Trump’s administration may provide hints about the increased support he received from these communities. His efforts arguably led to his win with 42% of the Hispanic vote, a significant leap from 28% in 2016, inclusive of a sizable 50% of Hispanic men. He also secured 14% of the black vote, another considerable increase from 6% in 2016, which included a whopping 24% of black men — the highest percentage by any Republican presidential candidate with black voters in nearly half a century.
It may initially raise eyebrows to observe crime victimization patterns aligning with different presidential administrations, given that law enforcement is primarily controlled at state and local levels. However, the former President deserves a share of the credit. Unlike others who have been complicit in advancing progressive crime policies that perpetuated unnecessary minority deaths and countless avoidable victimizations, Trump took a hard line against these destructive progressive criminal justice experimentations.
The relative safety of minority citizens during Trump’s presidency could be connected to a weakening of progressive criminal justice reformers during his term. His comeback is seen as a clear repudiation of such pernicious crime policies. Liberal states like California and New York particularly saw major voter swings against the Democratic Party.
Interestingly, California voters also overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to prohibit prison labor. This was viewed as just another attempt to soften the criminal penalties within the state. Democratic lawmakers, cognizant of the growing unpopularity of these reforms, scrambled to reverse course even before the election results.
The so-called progressive reform measures spelled disaster as opposed to the promised rehabilitation of addicts. Sadly, the hard lessons have largely been learnt by minorities that these touted criminal justice reforms do not deliver on their pledges.
As residents pleaded for the continued presence of law enforcement during disturbance periods, out-of-touch progressive elites in 20 major cities dramatically cut police budget allocations. This led to the emergence of police-free zones in cities like Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis. The repercussions were harrowing: there was a 30% surge in national homicide rates compared to 2019.
Unsurprisingly, most of the additional murder victims were black men. Contrary to this alarming trend, Trump was consistently vocal in his opposition to the defund-the-police movement from the outset. In sharp contrast, other leaders hinted at being open to reallocating police funds.
The American populace, by reversing progressive crime policies across the country, and reelecting Trump, has opened a window of opportunity to build a fresh bipartisan consensus on crime. The first step requires accepting that progressive reformers got it wrong: Minority communities do not benefit from a refusal to police or penalize offenders within their groups.
Guarding innocent community members from crime is a universally appreciable goal, irrespective of differences in skin color. All victims of murder shed the same color of blood, and nobody enjoys being a victim of mugging, regardless of their racial or ethnic identity. It should therefore be a collective responsibility to protect people from crime.
There should also be agreement across party lines that increasing the use of nonprison punishments and encouraging rehabilitation where feasible is simply a sensible strategy. Trump gave the bipartisan First Step Act of 2018 his seal of approval, which substantially reduced the federal prison population without hiking crime rates.
Lawmakers should use this as an example and rally behind the former President in preparing for a similar move in the coming year. Everyone must come to terms with the fact that we are teammates in the battle against crime.
Ensuring the citizen’s protection against crime is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any government. This foundational duty is of higher priority than routine administrative tasks such as road repair, garbage collection, or mail delivery.
Against this backdrop, the realities of the Biden administration stand in stark contrast. His administration has seen a significant uptick in victimization rates, especially amongst Black Americans. Consequently, the illusion of progressive crime policies ushering in safer times dissolves.
These observations amplify the need for a bipartisan consensus towards tackling crime, rather than succumbing to popular misperceptions. It is high time political leaders across the spectrum take cognizance of these hard-learned lessons and unite to ensure everyone’s safety.