The part on not having enough cops is probably part of the cause. The defund the police movement did have an impact in Worcester. Many cops walked during that time and they haven't hired enough to fill the spots of everyone who walked. Not to mention there were some who were fired for being dicks.

When you have fewer cops, people will notice and be more reckless. Crime will start to increase as well. We're starting to see this happening across the country since so many people wanted to defund the police. It should have been more about regulations on spending and having better training than defunding imo.