'Defund the Police' Rep. Bowman sees 30% violent crime spike in northern Bronx

New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who has made repeated calls to defund the police, is seeing skyrocketing crime rates in part of his district in the northern Bronx.

Bowman, a supporter of socialism and member of the so-called progressive "Squad," has a history of criticizing law enforcement.

"A system this cruel and inhumane can't be reformed. Defund the police, and defund the system that's terrorizing our communities," Bowman tweeted in December 2020 regarding the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was fatally shot while carrying a replica toy gun.

Since taking office in January 2021, crime has risen by roughly 30% in New York Police Department precincts 45, 47 and 50, which Bowman's district encompasses all or part of in the northern Bronx, Fox News reported.

Precinct 50 had the highest increase in violent crime – 74%. The area, which includes Fieldston and Riverdale neighborhoods, had a 123.5% increase in robberies and a more than 150% increase in auto grand larceny since 2021.

While smaller cities in Bowan's district such as New Rochelle and Rye do not report crime information as frequently as New York City, the city of Mount Vernon reported a nearly 40% increase in violent crime so far this year.

In April 2021 Bownan tweeted: "Republicans want to defund every government program except for those that actively terrorize Black and brown people."

Criticizing funding for his home city of New York, which has the largest police department in the U.S., Bowman wrote last year it has: "the highest police budget in the world, more than $10 billion annually. Money for police creates a means to respond to gun violence, not end it."

Bowman said in 2019, before he was elected: "It’s time to disarm the police."

He has also called to end qualified immunity for police officers, saying in April 2021: "Police violence is, in part, the result of our society putting police above the law."