The state of Washington is looking pretty dangerous, according to the latest statistics.
FBI crime data shows that violent crime skyrocketed past the national trend, especially in categories like aggravated assault, by eight percent for 2019 through 2024. What’s worse is that the state’s murder rate surged upward even more by an unforgivable 42.46 percent.
What makes this even worse is that the national average on murder rates dropped over three percent while violent crime fell over six percent.
While the nation did see an average increase of just 2.14 percent over those years, Washington’s increase was over 19 percent.
What’s the deal?
As The Post Millennial reported, Washington State also comes dead last in terms of police presence:
This comes as Washington State has been ranked last out of all 50 states and Washingon, DC for police staffing per capita for the 15th year in a row, according to a FBI data analyzed by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC).
As reported by Seattle Red, Washington’s lack of police presence is something of a crisis that’s left police in the state up against frightening odds:
Statewide, agencies added 292 commissioned officers in 2024, lifting the rate from 1.34 to 1.36 officers per 1,000 residents. But that small improvement hasn’t shifted Washington from its longstanding position as the least-staffed state, an embarrassing ranking it has held for at least 15 years thanks to poor Democratic leadership.
Indeed, when you’re a handful of people looking after large populations, there are not enough peacekeepers and law enforcers to catch a great deal of crime. Moreover, those that are present are running from call to call, becoming exhausted, which not only puts officers in danger, but also the people they’re either trying to help or arrest.
According to Axios, the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs (WASPC) says that for Washington to match the national average in terms of policing, it would need to spend somewhere north of $1 billion annually.
It’s not hard to put two and two together.
Washington has been a deep blue state that, back in 2020, showed massive support for defunding the police. In 2021, Washington Democrat Governor Jay Inslee signed sweeping police reforms that limited law enforcement officers while calling it a “moral mandate.” The changes tied the hands of law enforcement officials behind their backs and handed responsibilities for some police actions to other departments, such as first responders.
“It’s going to change the level of service we give to our citizens,” said Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr at the time. “Not because we want to, but because we have to.”
Now you can see the outcome of these policies that “reimagine” or defund policing. The “moral mandate” has resulted in some very immoral things happening to innocent people, and at a rate that far surpasses that of other states, where these foolish decisions never occurred.
Not to wheel out an old cliche, but this is exactly what Washington voted for, and it’s a great example to all the others of how not to police a state.
