Defunding the police appears to be creeping its way back into the Democrat Party zeitgeist after slinking into the shadows for several years. But early indications suggest the results will be just as disastrous for liberals as they were the first time around.

Earlier this month, the Washington, D.C. police union raised the alarm over an order from Mayor Muriel Bowser which would cut police overtime and freeze new hiring as part of $400 million in planned budget cuts. Critics of the move will see it as a revival of left-wing “defund the police” tactics, while the police union has said it will “jeopardize public safety and hinder our officers’ ability to protect and serve our communities effectively.

The nation’s capital is no stranger to defund the police extremism – back in 2020, the city was a hotbed of violence in the wake of the death of George Floyd, and the D.C. City Council slashed more than $15 million from the police department’s budget. That predictably led to a spike in violent crime and a historic shortage of officers.

In January, the department was still at just 3,200 sworn officers – the lowest level in 50 years. Even after the council and Mayor Bowser reversed course in 2023 and began offering lucrative incentives for new officers, DCPD has been unable to attract enough candidates. Yet now Bowser appears to be reversing course once more by pausing new hiring and cutting overtime pay.

It would be easy to dismiss D.C.’s planned cuts to its police department as an unfortunate one-off necessitated by poor financial planning – were it not for the plethora of other liberal-run cities that are also quietly trimming their police budgets as well.

In San Diego, for instance, Democrat Mayor Todd Gloria wants to cut $7 million from the police department, including “eliminating 13 sworn officer positions,” to supposedly meet an estimated budget shortfall, according to CBS 8. Yet, the city in recent years has spent millions of dollars on far-left boondoggles, including “LGBT youth initiatives.”

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, the city government’s draft budget may also include up to $35.7 million in “public safety operations” cuts – again justified by an alleged need to balance a deficit.

It’s the same pattern over and over. Liberal politicians understand how toxic the defund the police brand is, even with loyal Democrat voters, and so they’re trying a new trick: cloaking their anti-police activism in “budgetary” concerns.

In some cases, however, the mask has come off and Democrats have been openly hostile toward law enforcement.

Last year, for instance, the Chicago Board of Education voted to remove all police officers from its schools. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – who sponsored a “non-binding resolution to divert money from law enforcement to social services” while serving as Cook County Commissioner – said the board was “moving in the direction that I do support.”

“There is an intergovernmental agreement between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department. To end that agreement, there’s no qualms from me there,” Johnson added.

Though Johnson’s government plans to increase spending on the police department, it also aims to cut 54 police officer jobs and hundreds of support positions. Given Johnson’s vehement support for defunding the police in the past, it’s a safe bet that any additional funds for the police department won’t be going toward getting criminals off the city’s streets.

Despite the apparent revival of the defund the police movement among liberal elected officials, the concept remains a politically disastrous idea – perhaps explaining why Democrats who are pushing it are doing so more carefully and subtly this time around. A 2024 Harvard/Harris poll found “favorable opinions of the police had risen to 75 percent.” Meanwhile, favorable opinions of Black Lives Matter, which spawned the defund the police movement in 2020, have fallen to 45 percent, according to Forbes.

The town council in Purcellville, Virginia, recently learned firsthand just how unpopular defunding the police is. Earlier this month, the council voted 4-2 to begin the process of entirely eliminating the town’s police department.

In echoes of the excuses offered by Democrat leaders in D.C., San Diego, and Portland, Purcellville Mayor Christopher Bertaut said the decision was “financially motivated,” pointing to residents’ high water bills. Bertaut also noted that Purcellville is the safest town in Virginia – to which residents shot back that it likely will not be for long if the police department is dissolved.

Amid mounting public outrage – and a recall campaign against the council members who voted to defund the police – the council reversed course and voted to fully fund its police department.

The Purcellville council is comprised of elected officials who are nominally nonpartisan. But the backlash to the town’s defund the police plan was an indication for both Republicans and Democrats of just how unpopular the idea still is.

Nonetheless, defund the police still clearly holds some appeal for liberal Democrats. It seems no matter how many times voters rebuke them at the ballot box, they just keep returning to the same failed policies.

AMAC Newsline contributor Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.

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