Over recent years, several major cities have bolstered their police support and consequently witnessed a decline in homicides. According to one law enforcement organization, this trend represents a clear opposition to movements aimed at reducing police funding.
Cities including Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis, and New York City have boosted their police budgets and, as a result, experienced fewer homicides in the initial quarter of 2025 compared to 2024.
The Major Cities Chiefs Association gathered data spanning from January 1 to March 31 for both 2025 and 2024, revealing that cities which invested more in their police forces typically saw a reduction in homicide rates.
Philadelphia saw a 28% decrease in homicides year to date, while Minneapolis saw a 54% decrease, and Denver experienced a decrease of almost 59%.
Local lawmakers voted to increase police budgets in 2024, despite pressure from activists who wanted to defund the police. (Minneapolis Police Department/Facebook)
“Make no mistake: These crime reductions were achieved thanks to the hard work and grit of New York’s Finest – but we know that many New Yorkers don’t feel safe,” Tisch said. “Their perception of public safety has become their reality, and we know why: surging recidivism. . . . The deck has been completely stacked against our cops by a shocking lack of accountability for crime.”
National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith told Fox News Digital that the drop in murders shows that Americans are rejecting the “defund the police” movement.
“I really do believe that what we are seeing in 2025 is an absolute rejection of the ‘defund the police movement,’ the ‘re-imagining police movement.’ The law enforcement profession always has room for reform. There is always room for change, but this whole cloth ‘let’s eliminate the police by defunding them’ didn’t work. People died because of it, and now the American public is wholeheartedly rejecting it,” Smith said. “And the American law enforcement officer sees that.”
Smith said it shouldn’t be a shock that “more police work equals less crime.”
The Major Cities Chiefs Association showed that several cities with increased funding for police also experienced a drop in homicides. (Fox News )
“Obviously, this is something that we have been talking about for the last five years. And we have, you know, we have been trying to explain to the American public that you do need law enforcement, and when you need law enforcement, law enforcement needs resources. And finally, I think the public, the politicians, the media are catching up with that idea,” she said.
