Lawrence Jones reports St Louis police at record low amid 'Defund the Police' movement on 'Fox & Friends'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Co-host Lawrence Jones reported on how rising crime was impacting St Louis as the city faced police shortages, including a record number of vacancies, on the February 14 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'
He was joined by Ann Dorn, the widow of retired Police Captain David Dorn, and retired St Louis homicide detective Roger Murphy, who commented on how the 'Defund the Police' movement and related rhetorics from politicians played a role in the worsening situation.
The complaints of Ann Dorn and Roger Murphy
"Nobody wants to come down in the city and be a policeman anymore. It's out of control. We were never like that until the last five, ten years," Murphy told Jones.
Dorn, whose husband was shot dead as protests over George Floyd's death spiraled out of control back in 2020, said that the 'Defund the Police' movement harmed morale, which resulted in the city "losing officers left and right."
"When (Rep) Cori Bush and (Mayor) Tishaura Jones called for defunding of the police. What does that make it sound like? The citizens are like, well, what does that mean?" she questioned, adding, "The citizens are suffering. They're not seeing the police. They want to see the police out there."
The struggle to find replacements
According to Fox News, the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department, which is budgeted for 1,224 officers, currently has over 300 vacancies as of December 2023.
Republican State Sen Nick Schroer called for the state of Missouri to take control of the city's police force earlier on the show, stating, "You've got 326 vacancies, 500-plus officers have left in just the past couple of years. The plague is spreading into the surrounding communities, and it's impacting the state as a whole."
Meanwhile, Mayor Tishaura Jones claimed credit for reducing crime since taking office in 2021. A statement from her office read, "With targeted investments in crime prevention, intervention, and enforcement, St Louis experienced a 21 percent reduction in homicides (158 in 2023 compared to 200 in 2022), the lowest murder rate in a decade and one of the biggest year-over-year reductions in violent crime in 90 years."
