Editor’s Note: This is an opinion column.
By Paul DeMarco
So as we start the new year, of course, the pandemic will continue to dominate the news.
Yet, the other underlying story that does not appear to be going away is the spike in crime across the Nation. A combination of soft-on-crime lawmakers, progressive prosecutors, and Judges in urban areas has made it even worse.
And Alabama has not been immune. The state rate of violent crime is about 38 percent per capita above the national average. The number of murders in the largest cities in the state was up significantly from last year.
So the question is: will state leaders attempt to tackle this problem or let it continue? Alabama citizens would say that public safety is one of the most important issues that should be addressed in 2022.
There are a number of lawmakers who are pressing forward with attempts to weaken the criminal system by ending the Alabama habitual felony act as well as forcing the parole board to let out violent felons much earlier than their sentences require.
In addition, proposed legislation in last year’s legislative session that would have punished any government entity that were to defund a local law enforcement agency, namely police departments, by taking away state funding, grants, revenue, or other forms of aid, was not even given an up or down vote in the Alabama Senate.
Legislation should be added to give more tools and funding to law enforcement to enable them in the fight against crime. And those that want to break the law need to know their consequences.
Attacks across the Nation on law enforcement have hurt the morale of police and made it even harder to hire new recruits to patrol the streets. Liberal politicians have campaigned on making it more difficult to wear a badge and second guess every decision officers have to make in life and death situations.
In most conservative states dominated by Republicans, law and order legislation passes and becomes law. Surprisingly with a state as conservative as Alabama, law enforcement does not have as strong support from some lawmakers as you would think in our state.
This will be a bellwether issue for the state legislature as to whether public safety is a true priority.
If they do not, Alabama citizens must hold them accountable at the ballot box.
Paul DeMarco is a native of Alabama and former member of the Alabama House of Representatives.