Police abolition significantly decreases public safety: The CHOP Zone in Seattle
A 2022 study published in the journal of Criminology and Public Policy showed that police abolition significantly increased crime during the 2020 Capitol Hill Occupation Protest (CHOP) in Seattle.
Following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, tensions between the public and the police increased greatly and protests erupted in cities throughout the United States. Seattle was no exception, with protestors gathering nightly at the Seattle Police Department (SPD)’s East precinct. The protests often turned confrontational and dangerous as people set fires and caused property damage, while officers took to deploying riot control weapons to control the scene. On June 8, 2020, in an attempt to calm the situation, the SPD suddenly abandoned the East precinct, and officers were instructed to no longer patrol nor respond to calls for service in the area unless there was a mass casualty event.
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