The Crime Crisis Destroying America’s Cities

American cities are becoming emblematic of our national decline.

High taxes, homelessness, and violent crime drive thousands of business owners and residents from urban centers annually. Once amazing cities, powerhouses of the American Dream and engines of our world’s leading economy – replete with beautiful buildings, pristine roads, and iconic bridges – are deteriorating at an unfathomable rate.

Perhaps even more troubling, Metropolitan America has become a hotbed for the mentally ill and drug-addicted population. Violent criminals are now emboldened by soft-on-crime policies that tell a new generation of offenders there are no consequences for their actions.

Our cities are on the road to ruin, but the Democrat politicians who run them refuse to address the obvious problems. When these leaders aren’t too busy defending Hamas, parroting open borders talking points, or weaponizing the government against their own political opponents, they spend their time in elected office doubling down on their failures and making ridiculous excuses for the challenges citizens face on a daily basis. Just look at Gov. Newsom’s comments after cleaning the streets of San Francisco for Chinese President Xi Jinping to arrive – it’s not that elected leaders can’t keep our cities safe, it’s that they won’t.

Through my work serving grassroots Americans, I spend a lot of time in Washington, D.C. – a destination for American families and students all across the country looking to see firsthand how their government works and take in the historical grandeur of century-old buildings. Unfortunately, our nation’s capital has seen decades of mismanagement, but any resident will tell you that the city has suffered massively over the last few years.

Union Station, a long-time city landmark and travel hub, has instead become a hub for crime and homelessness, only to be cleaned up when President Biden wants a speaking venue. Our businesses have suffered so many losses due to theft that some drug stores have begun putting pictures of their products on the shelves instead of the products themselves. Other small businesses have closed their doors altogether.

Most notable here in D.C. is the worsening juvenile crime crisis. Politicians like Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Brian Schwalb have worked alongside the liberal city council to push a radical “ignore crime” agenda that undercuts law enforcement agencies and continues the mantra of “defund the police.” As a result, carjackings alone in D.C. have jumped 250% since 2018. Very few have been arrested for these crimes thanks to the city’s policies, but of those arrested, 64% are juveniles.

D.C. residents deserve to feel safe in their city, but the juvenile crime crisis suggests a deeper problem that will become harder to solve the longer our leaders let it go on. Last month, a 12-year-old was charged in a failed carjacking attempt in Northwest D.C. In 2021, two teenage girls attempted to carjack a food delivery driver in a popular D.C. neighborhood, killing the driver in the process. And the problem is only getting worse.

Despite the skyrocketing crime statistics, many Democratic politicians still refuse to take responsibility for carjackings, robberies, and homicides made worse by their own policies. In fact, some even refuse to acknowledge there is a problem. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has said there “is not a crime crisis” in Washington, D.C., but merely a widespread ‘perception’ of unsafety in the city. Others, while acknowledging the rising crime, have offered weak solutions like enforcing curfews for teens in certain neighborhoods or offering AirTags for citizens to help recover vehicles when they are stolen.

The tragic uptick in brutality stems in large part from Democratic prosecutors who refuse to do their jobs and prosecute crime. Rogue prosecutors, including the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, send a dangerous message to anyone with criminal intentions: There is no punishment for breaking the law. Attorney General Schwalb, who is the person responsible for getting juvenile crime under control, spends his time pursuing politically driven investigations instead of addressing surging crime. As a result, there is little stopping offenders from committing heinous acts.

Washington, D.C., is not just another city – it is our nation’s capital. It should be a city for all Americans, safe and free just like America, but, unfortunately, it currently only showcases a disturbing new trend for American cities.

A recent report shows that those living in mid-sized cities such as Henderson, Nev., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are not safe from Democrat-caused chaos threatening their quality of life. Henderson saw a spike in violent crime reports between 2019 and 2021, during which homicides reached the highest number in the past ten years. The number of robberies, meanwhile, increased 91% during the first seven months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Pittsburgh likewise experienced 71 homicides in 2022, the largest number in a decade. The Major Cities Police Chiefs Association reports that the Steel City is experiencing a year-over-year increase in rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults as of mid-2023.

Americans aren’t clueless. Not only in Washington, D.C., or in San Francisco – but from coast to coast Americans are watching our cities decay right before our eyes, and they are watching their leaders do nothing about it.

The majority of Americans believe our justice system isn’t tough enough on crime, and the situation in Washington, D.C., is a pretty strong indicator they’re right. From the local city council to the attorney general or mayor, city residents need to hold their elected officials accountable and demand they save our cities and protect our citizens.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.