OPINION:
When 8-year-old Jackson Sparks went to watch a Christmas parade last November, he had no reason to think he and five others would be killed that day by a runaway SUV that was allegedly driven by a violent felon that was let out of jail to further a political agenda.
Regrettably, 2022 will have more preventable tragedies because the Biden administration, the Democratic Party and the media will refuse to take the crime crisis seriously and instead continue to use it as a wedge issue to advance their political agenda.
Crime has exploded in this country thanks to the anti-police and liberal prosecutor movements — both built upon false narratives designed to increase the Democratic Party’s power.
The anti-police movement began during the Obama administration and asserted that unarmed African American men are routinely murdered by racist police officers who were part of a racist policing system.
This has proven to be good politics for Democrats, even though every serious examination of the issue dispelled the narrative. George Floyd’s killing in 2020 was treated as another example of racist policing instead of the aberration that it was. Riots ensued for months after Floyd’s death.
Seeing the social unrest as good politics, the Democratic Party did everything it could do to encourage the social unrest while dubbing the riots “peaceful protests.” Then-Sen. Kamala Harris even supported a bail fund specifically designed to promote rioting — by giving the would-be rioters the comfort of knowing they would be immediately released from jail if caught.
Many Republican leaders, afraid of being labeled racist, got in on the act by conceding the premise of racist policing desperately in need of reform. As a result, crime has risen as police officers have left the force in droves while finding replacements has become more difficult. Those who remain are demoralized, at greater risk of harm and reluctant to do their jobs for fear of being scapegoated for political ends.
The liberal prosecutor movement also started several years ago. Liberal prosecutors were elected on platforms declaring the entire criminal justice system to be racist and in need of major reform.
They also sought to end what they described as “mass incarceration” by refusing to enforce certain offenses even though incarceration rates had been falling. In their campaigns and in office, they have sought to delegitimize the entire criminal justice system and thus rendering prosecuting criminals to be an illegitimate use of power.
Ironically, the system had been working better than ever, and many communities were experiencing a renaissance fueled by the benefits of lower crime. Because there was little community support for this movement, far-left organizations funded by billionaire George Soros pumped record amounts of money into these races to ensure victory — often in primaries.
What had traditionally been truly local races costing five figures became seven-figure races funded almost exclusively by outside sources. The results of these elections have been wonderful for far-left Democrats and their pet policies but disastrous for the communities they supposedly serve. As a result, we are in the midst of record crime increases that show no signs of slowing down.
When recently asked about the role of liberal prosecutors on the skyrocketing crime rate, a White House spokesperson conveniently blamed COVID-19. Not that she believed this to be the cause, but it is worth noting that localities with Soros-funded prosecutors saw murders increase before the pandemic and other countries similarly suffering from COVID-19 experienced murder rates decrease during the pandemic.
Peru, the country hardest hit by COVID-19 in terms of per capita deaths, experienced a decline in murders. So did Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela — also countries severely impacted by COVID-19. Of course, blaming COVID-19 was much easier than telling the truth and taking the issue seriously. Remember, this is the administration that blames the weather in Guatemala for the immigration crisis.
The truth is that rising crime is directly attributable to bad policies inflicted upon the public based upon false narratives. If we want to solve this crime crisis, it’s time to get serious and put public safety ahead of politics.
• Jonathan Fahey is the former acting director of U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement and a former federal and state prosecutor who ran unsuccessfully against a Soros-funded prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia.
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