Syms: Crime is here to stay until we re-fund the police

Gunshots fired at vehicle with multiple children inside, adult passenger dies.

Witnesses report shots fired outside a high school football game in Phoenix.

Phoenix police crime lab on pace for another record-breaking year when it comes to fentanyl.

These are the headlines Phoenix residents are waking up to almost daily.

Phoenix hasn’t been immune from the crime wave sweeping the country on the heels of anti-law enforcement sentiments stoked by radical activists.

While “defund the police” policies have been repeatedly rejected by voters — including in blue cities like Minneapolis — the effects of anti-police sentiment are real and making it harder for officers to do their job. No wonder Phoenix is facing an officer shortage of more than 500 (and some have reported it’s as high as 1,000).

Then you have major political organizations making their anti-police position a litmus test for candidates, and many on the left — including my opponent — are falling in line. Add to that our open border highway for fentanyl, and you have a dangerous cocktail.

This isn’t a political game. Lives and futures are at stake.

How many more young people will never wake up after their naivete leaves them dead from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Just days ago, a baby was found unconscious in a Phoenix apartment from a fentanyl overdose. How many unsuspecting parents will be shot in a parking lot after grocery shopping? How many more women will endure abuse from monsters with multiple offenses who were never apprehended?

This election offers Arizonans a choice between lawmakers who will do something about rising crime and those who won’t.

When I represented Phoenix and Paradise Valley in the legislature, my record was tough on crime and focused on justice for often-neglected victims of violent crime and assault.

My hallmark legislation cleared a 6,000+ backlog of untested rape kits, which put many cold case offenders behind bars and gave justice to the women harmed. But I went beyond that and worked alongside our police departments and state government to close multiple sexual assault and rape cases that had been left unsolved on the back burner.

These efforts had a real effect and led to solving the Scottsdale cold case murder of Allison Feldman. Her perpetrator will finally be put on trial for murder.

I’m running again and my priorities haven’t changed. In fact, my focus on crime prevention and justice has only intensified given the circumstances we face today.

My priority for day one? We must refund our police. It’s that straightforward.
To make Arizona the most law-enforcement-friendly state in the country, my “Re-Fund the Police” initiative will increase state law enforcement aid to local jurisdictions, expedite certification training, increase training, support and technology for police officers, fund scholarships for police academy, increase salaries, and offer hiring bonuses.

To stem the flow of drugs before they reach our neighborhoods and our kids’ schools, I’ll fund our border sheriffs and give them the resources they need to take on the cartels.

Quite frankly, as a mom, I don’t have any patience for those who rag on our police and apply impractical ideology to solving the very dire problems we face. Our kids matter too much. Let’s make sure another tragedy doesn’t happen because radical lawmakers are busy doing nothing to stop it.