The Political Insider

As New York City braces for massive shortage of first responders who are quitting or retiring in droves to rather than submit to a COVID vaccine mandate, Los Angeles may be getting ready to face the same predicament.

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva warned that LA County’s vaccine mandate could cause a dangerous depletion of the police force at a time when violent crime is on the upswing.

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Vaccine Mandate Could Put Public Safety In Jeopardy

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors issued an executive order in August that requires all county employees to register their vaccination status online by October 1. 

Villanueva’s staffing issues come in many forms according to him: “We are experiencing an increase in unscheduled retirements, worker compensation claims, employees quitting, and a reduction in qualified applicants.”

Shockingly, the Sheriff claims that he could lose nearly 45% of his employees.

As to the timing of the mandate, Villanueva said that homicide rates would continue to climb and officer response time would also increase. “With the pandemic waning, there is no justification for the Board mandate,” Villanueva said. “It is like putting up the storm windows after the storm has passed.”

Villanueva also pointed out that his frontline public service workers were called “heroes” early on, only to now face termination.

As I reported in a previous article, New York City is facing a similar disturbing scenario.

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NY, LA, And Everywhere In Between

It’s not just New York and Los Angeles, and not just law enforcement feeling the pinch.

Prison guards are another group that are taking a hit.

One officer testifying at a Georgia House of Representatives hearing on prison conditions last month said on one occasion, he was assigned to supervise 400 prisoners on his own.

Of course the prime concern for citizens and law enforcement alike if personnel shortages occur is a major spike in crime, especially at night. But in some places, that is already happening. Many businesses have begun closing early in cities in California because of brazen acts of theft.

By way of example, one Safeway grocery store in San Francisco that used to be a 24-hour business will now close at 9 p.m. because of theft issues.

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman says that Safeway relayed to him that police rarely even arrest anyone for the thefts.