Addressing the Rise in Crime and Violence in San Antonio
A “murder map” of San Antonio for 2024 shows 127 homicides in the city, with most recorded in the 78207 ZIP code. However, the city leaders and the local liberal mainstream news media ignore the facts of the rise in crime and violence, and how to address it.
In 2020, homicides surged with 128 deaths, marking a troubling trend after being on the decline for three consecutive years, records show. Violent crime continued to rise, with 160 homicides reported in 2021.
The number of homicides spiked to 231 in 2022. That was the highest number of killings in San Antonio since at least the mid-1990s.
Most liberal leaders say that COVID-19 caused the spike. However, neither the local liberal news media nor SA’s liberal political leadership will admit that certain factors contribute to the rise in crime and violence, including homicides.
First, 2022 followed the “George Floyd” hysteria in San Antonio. Liberal/leftist anti-police groups influenced the SA City Hall, and the SAPD was constrained in doing proactive police work. Police were told to “de-escalate” their confrontations with suspects, including armed repeat offenders. The crime and violence went sky high.
Second, the George Soros-funded Bexar County Attorney, Joe Gonzales, has been caught meeting with liberal social justice, anti-police groups, getting help on how to release repeat offenders and prosecute police officers for any perceived infractions. This attitude has caused a tremendous chilling effect on the police officers’ morale.
Third, SAPD has a severe staff shortage, with as many as 500-800 officers. The current police force is overworked and stretched thin daily, particularly at big events like Fiesta.
Fourth, there continues to be an anti-police political sentiment at City Hall and even among community and business leaders. For example, Suhk Kaur, city councilmember for District 1, has proposed hiring retired law enforcement officers to oversee minor accidents and reported non-violent incidents. While this may sound like a clever idea, it is a backdoor approach to abolishing the police.
Why not just hire more police officers? Sadly, leftist, anti-police city leaders support the radical Democrat Party agenda. They want to abolish the local police department to make way for a national police force.
Another example is City Council member Jalen McKee-Rodriguez in District 2, who has repeatedly said that he opposes more police presence in his district because his constituents fear them. Yet many residents in his district complain about the crime and police response time.
Liberal police and judicial policies do not stop or deter crime. The liberal SA city leaders, with the help of the liberal local press, have excused, tolerated, and justified crime, and when that happens, we get more and worse crime.
The Biden Administration claimed liberal social justice policies had lowered crime until they were caught concealing the accurate crime figures. Similarly, the liberal leaders of San Antonio claim that crime and violence are lower. However, most citizens do not believe it.
If crime and violence are going to be deterred and stopped, then criminals, especially repeat offenders, must be punished. Crime cannot be excused as a “social” issue that can be solved with lenient justice or more public programs.
After several years of liberal SA City Hall policies to address crime and violence, it is time to get tough again. We must let police officers be proactive in fighting crime, and the city leaders and local news media must support stronger punishment of criminals, especially repeat offenders.