Truth bombs exploded Wednesday on the set of CNN’s “New Day,” as former Capitol Hill police officer and new CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Michael Fanone broke from the network’s typical narrative and exposed the real reasons behind the recent surge in crime across America.
Fanone’s comments came in response to a report from correspondent Brynn Gingras stating that homicides in the U.S. increased 29% in 2020, and an additional 7% in 2021. Gingras noted three high-profile murders that have recently gripped the nation: the stabbing of a UCLA student in Los Angeles, a bus stop attack on a nurse in Los Angeles, and the pushing of a woman in front of a subway train in New York.
None of the brutal attacks involved guns, meaning they were not fodder for CNN’s usual assaults on the Second Amendment, leaving the network wide open for a different point of view.
“Clearly there has been a significant increase in crime,” Fanone stated. “I mean, as a police officer, I witnessed it, not just in this past year [or] the year before, but in the last four or five years leading up to 2022. We’ve seen, like, a staggering increase in both property and violent crimes.”
(Video: CNN via MRC-TV)
Fanone pointed to many sources for the rampant rise.
“You know, when I look at the causes of that, I guess the police officer inside of me immediately would point to a decrease in proactive policing,” he said. “You know, whether that’s because police officers are prevented from doing so by new legislation, departmental policies, a lack of confidence and training in their leadership, fear of assassination or indifference to the job, which resulted from years of intense scrutiny and angry rhetoric directed at them by members of the media, the public, and politicians.”
Fanone also levied a charge against prosecutors who have publicly decriminalized criminal activities.
“I’d also point to state and district prosecutors who’ve decided to publicly decriminalize crimes that they deemed as minor infractions,” Fanone stated. “That’s created an environment… where individuals that are committing these crimes feel emboldened. And I think, in doing so, you marginalize the victims and place police officers whose job it is to keep communities safe and who must answer to those community members in an incredibly difficult position.”
“I understand district and state prosecutors and their ideas surrounding not prosecuting minor crimes, decriminalizing certain offenses, but telegraphing that to criminals is not a good idea,” he continued. “You’re emboldening them. And you’re marginalizing the victims of those crimes. You know, when I was a police officer, last thing I ever wanted to do was arrest somebody for, you know, petty theft from a bodega. But think about the owner of that bodega and if, you know, people are allowed to continue to steal, that’s going to hurt him or her significantly. So there, you know, I think that these prosecutors need to weigh cases on an individual basis, not make blanket statements allowing for people to commit crimes and not be held to account.”
While he feels accountability is necessary to the success of the U.S. criminal justice system, ultimately Fanone blamed a lack of meaningful discourse for the surge in crime.
“I really attribute the rise in crime in the U.S. to our inability to engage in an honest discussion about policing and criminal justice reform,” he said. “In the last five or so years, I’ve seen serious failures on the part of the media, elected leaders, and judges, state and federal prosecutors, police departments, police officers, community activists, and community members. I never experienced a level of distrust, misrepresentation, and violent rhetoric exchanged by and between members of those groups.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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