LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – According to 2021 Michigan crime statistics report, violent crime has increased in the state since 2019.

According to the report, murders increased by 30%, theft of motor vehicles have increase nearly 21%, and carjackings are up a whopping 794%.

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In addition, the assault on law enforcement officers and the profession in general has risen. Physical assaults on police officers have risen 31.7% while the number of law enforcement officers on the job has declined nearly 2 percent.

In a June 2020 interview, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stated she supported the “spirit of defund the police.”

Tudor Dixon, who is Whitmer’s GOP challenger, stated in a press release, “When the state’s chief executive sides with ‘Defund the Police’ and sympathizes with wanna-be cop killers, this is what happens. Gretchen Whitmer is responsible for out-of-control crime in our communities,” Dixon said.

Dixon, who is endorsed by the Police Officers Association of Michigan, has repeatedly asked Whitmer to accept debates in September prior to the start of early voting so she can defend her record. Calls and emails to Whitmer’s campaign from Michigan News Source have been ignored.

“The lack of respect emanates from the top,” Dixon said. “Gretchen Whitmer doesn’t respect the police, won’t demand respect for them, and refuses to side with them when their lives are threatened, so this is the result.”