“Mayor Ted Wheeler, in lockstep with Portland City Council, made drastic cuts to the Portland Police Bureau budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year starting July 1, 2020. The Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) was on the chopping block and has been disbanded.” The monthly average of 2.3 homicides (2015-2019) jumped to 15 homicides in July, 2020 as soon as the police reduction occurred. Portland didn’t introduce alternatives to what it cut. If policing is not effective, defunding won’t cause crime to rise. If policing is effective, then defunding causes crime to rise unless the policing is replaced by alternatives that … Continue reading Portland Cuts Police, Homicides Jump