Is violent crime higher in Democrat run cities?

[AgnosticBoy]

Many on the Republican side, esp. Fox News, tend to claim that there is a high amount of crime in Democrat run cities. They attribute this to Democrat District Attorneys weak on crime policies. Here's an example from an article on the FactCheck.org website:

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee plans to hold a “field hearing” in Manhattan on April 17 to draw attention to “how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.”

But more than that, they argue that while Bragg expends office resources to pursue Trump, his supposedly soft-on-crime policies have led to soaring crime in Manhattan.

1. Do Democrat run cities have higher violent crime rates?
2. If true, is it coincidental or is it because of Democrat policies?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

My search for answers, which btw reminds of my journey for answers on God's existence as an agnostic, has involved looking at articles from multiple sides of the issues. I tried to find information on how the questions in my OP can even be addressed reasonably. Consider this for example from CNN,

It’s impossible to quantify how much Bragg had to do with either the 2023 decrease (it’s early in the year) or the 2022 increase (which was a continuation of a trend that began months before Bragg was elected in 2021); in general, it is extremely difficult to determine how much any jurisdiction’s crime numbers, positive or negative, can be attributed to the local district attorney. There is always a complicated mix of factors at play, from the economy to policing to the corrections system to social policy to the weather to, since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic.

I should say that I generally agree with the Republican side on one point which is that being soft on crime can cause an increase in crime. I can accept that punishment is a big factor that deters some from committing crimes. So if people face little to no punishment, then that would cause more crime. Also, not keeping dangerous offenders off of the street would allow them to commit more crime (which of course they couldn't commit if they were locked up).

All interesting things to consider!