End of defund police era? Crime, prosecutorial crackdown in blue and purple states signals shift, experts say

Politicians and pundits have described the 2024 election as a "mandate" for change from the American people after four years of frustration with the economy, illegal immigration and crime, among other factors.

In 2020, local and federal politicians met demands from protesters to "defund" or "dismantle" police departments across the country. Intending to reform the criminal justice system, they passed bills aimed at moving police funds to other entities or changing the way police pursue suspects after George Floyd's murder.

Four years later, however, Americans are frustrated with the state of violent crime in some areas and sought in the 2024 election to give more power and funding to law enforcement.

"We are seeing a huge shift post election now in legislation propositions – even candidates who rejected defunding, they rejected decriminalization, they rejected decarceration," Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokesperson for the National Police Association nonprofit, told Fox News Digital. "And we're really heartened at what we're seeing. This has… been 10 years of progressive, quote-unquote reform, police reform, criminal justice reform."

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Police officers stand at attention during a memorial for slain Officer Eric Talley on March 22, 2022, in Boulder, Colorado. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)

California

In California, residents rejected another term for progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who was backed by billionaire George Soros.

Californians also overwhelmingly voted in favor of Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, which seeks to undo portions of Proposition 47 by increasing penalties for some crimes. 

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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon lost re-election. (Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

When Proposition 47 passed in 2014, it downgraded most thefts from felonies to misdemeanors if the amount stolen was under $950, "unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes."

Progressives criticized Prop 36 as racist. The ACLU of Northern California described it in a press release as "part of a broader conservative strategy in California and across the nation to roll back criminal justice reforms aimed at interrupting the cycle of mass incarceration of Black and Brown people."

In Alameda County just outside San Francisco, voters recalled District Attorney Pamela Price and Mayor Sheng Thao.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled in the 2024 election. (Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle)

Criminal defense attorney Michael Cardoza, a FOX 2 San Francisco legal analyst who previously worked in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, told the outlet that the Board of Supervisors has received a "referendum or a mandate from the voters: we don't want the liberal approach."

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Paul Mauro, Fox News contributor and former NYPD inspector, is not as optimistic. He told Fox News Digital that while there has been a shift in rhetoric and the electorate, there has not been a significant shift in "the ruling class" in certain blue areas "yet."

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"The tea leaves are inescapable," Mauro said. "You had Gascon out. Mayor of San Francisco out. Mayor of Oakland out. The D.A. of the county that covers Oakland out. Proposition 36 [was] overwhelmingly approved in the same jurisdiction that had approved the prior proposition that went against police efforts… So, you have to lie to yourself to believe that there hasn't been a significant shift in the electorate."

"You'd have to lie to yourself to believe that there hasn't been a significant shift in the electorate."

— Paul Mauro

Mauro said the "cynic" in him says that if Democrats "had squeezed out a win, they wouldn't even be having that conversation" about crime and immigration concerns. "But now they're being forced to have that conversation," he explained.

Oakland's homeless population jumped 9% over the past two years, according to the latest official estimate. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times)

"While I believe the electorate is much better informed regarding the defund police movement and clearly do not support anything like it… the ruling class on the left, the progressive class on the left, that managed to grab so many of the state and city legislatures and mayoralties and governorships, will ignore this message," he said.

Other blue and purple areas saw voting trends similar to what happened in California.

Colorado

In Colorado, voters approved Proposition 128, which will require people convicted of crimes to serve 85% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole, which is 10% more time than the state’s current law, which requires inmates to serve at least 75% of their sentences, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Colorado voters also favored Proposition 130 to increase law enforcement funding. The law will direct $350 million from the state legislature to help law enforcement agencies recruit, train and maintain officers, and boost their pay.

Aurora, which has a population of about 390,000, has become the Tren de Aragua gang's home base in Colorado, officials said. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Those who opposed both measures argued that they would actually increase crime in Colorado. The Coloradans for Smart Justice coalition, for example, described the measures in a post-election statement as "outdated, punitive, and costly approaches to public safety."

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Arizona

In Arizona, voters approved Proposition 314, which will make entering the country illegally a state crime on top of a federal crime. It will also allow police to arrest those who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. 

Betsy Brantner-Smith, who lives in southern Arizona, believes the new law will boost morale among police officers, border patrol agents and civilians alike.

"[W]e're going to see this shift in morale, and that is going to bring recruitment numbers back up."

— Betsy Brantner-Smith

"Since the election results of bringing a pro-police president back to the White House, we don't want to put people in jail who don't deserve it. Cops want to go out there, arrest bad guys, and more importantly, we want to protect our citizens," the 29-year law enforcement veteran said. "And I think that we're going to see this shift in morale, and that is going to bring recruitment numbers back up."

The Tucson Sector has been overwhelmed by a surge of migrants. (USBP)

Progressives believe the law will incite discrimination across the state.

"Proposition 314 will not fix the flaws in our immigration system, nor ‘secure the border’ in the way its proponents have represented," Noah Schramm, border policy strategist for the ACLU of Arizona, said in a statement after the bill passed. "What it will do – if the courts ever allow it to stand – is break families apart, exacerbate racial profiling, and increase criminalization of immigrants and communities of color." 

Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas, voters also showed support for pro-law enforcement initiatives. 

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Proposition U, which won by just over 50%, aims to increase funding for the police department and require the department to maintain a force of 4,000 officers, which is about 900 more officers than are currently employed.

Proposition S, a ballot measure that received 55% of the vote, will allow residents to sue the city if it does not comply with the city charter, city ordinances and state law, according to FOX 4 Dallas.

A Texas flag is on the back of a police motorcycle outside of the funeral for police Sgt. Michael Smith at Watermark Community Church, July 14, 2016, in Dallas. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

"We saw in the city of Dallas even, which is kind of a progressive area in a very red state… passed two propositions, bringing some power back to the city government in their ability to allow police to do their jobs," Brantner-Smith said. "In fact, one of the propositions in Dallas gives standing to citizens to file lawsuits if the city government refuses to enforce the law. That's huge."

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Mauro believes that while the 2024 election signaled a shift in priorities for voters, a single controversial law enforcement encounter could quickly reverse that change.

"All the progress that's been made is going to go right back down the tubes, and we'll be right back where we were," Mauro said. "You know that they're waiting for something like that.… The progressives are very frustrated. They had a very bad night, and their entire narrative has been undermined, which means their entire funding is in question. And that whole thing is an industry. The grievance industry against police is enormous."

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.