In my opinion I don’t think police have much of an impact on crime. Sure, the fact that you might get arrested might deter some criminals. But by and large people who commit crimes do so out of desperation because they are out of options and I don’t mean to suggest you have to murder someone to feed your family but the I would say most murders probably have a long history of smaller crimes leading to up to murder. Having good jobs, social programs, and housing for the population will keep crime rates down.

I live in pretty heavily populated area with a high cost of living. Joblessness is near zero and there is little to no crime considering the population. My doors are unlocked and keys left in the ignition of my truck.

My point is if people have opportunity to provide for themselves they would choose that over crime 9 out of 10 times. So the message of defund the police was clouded, all people want was more money spent on community programs instead of out fitting militarized police forces to keep the poors in line.